


Chuck VS The Dark

by Ambear9



Series: Chuck VS Alternate Universes [6]
Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: !blind Chuck, M/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 14:16:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 49,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambear9/pseuds/Ambear9
Summary: Chuck moves to North Carolina and meets his new neighbor Major John Casey





	1. Chapter 1

Chuck tapped his cane along the porch until he found the swing, he hated swings, they disoriented him, but it was already here and he has yet to hire someone to take it down and buy new outdoor furniture. He planted his feet on the ground making sure the swing didn’t move. "Fuck" he yelled "Fuck this day"  
The weather in North Carolina was so different than the California air, but it was March so he may freeze to death on the stupid swing.  
He jumped when something rubbed against his leg. “Hello?” no answer, but he felt something on his leg again “Is someone there?”  
Chuck bent over to feel what was by his legs, forgetting he was on a swing, he lost his balance and fell forward, catching himself with his hands, which he instantly regretted.  
“Oh god” he hissed, sitting up on his knees to feel around for his cane and of course the swing hit him in the bac  
"Seriously fuck this day"  
“Can I help you?”  
“Oh my god please, did you touch me? Something touched me" he huffed "and I lost my cane, do you see it? It’s red. I'm blind by the way”  
“Yeah it’s on the swing, and I’m guessing it was the giant orange cat that came running off the porch"  
“I don’t have a cat.” he stood up before grabbing his cane.  
"I take it you are having a bad day?"  
"I walked my dog to the groomer but then got lost on the way home without him, then I called for an uber and almost got in the wrong car, then I got home and my cane got stuck in the porch and I dropped my key somewhere on this porch, then I fell out of that stupid swing and then it hit me"  
"That sucks"  
“Please tell me you see a key somewhere, I was using my spare, it doesn't have a keychain on it yet because I lost my other key with the keychains because the movers were very rude and didn’t listen to me and my house is a mess and I have no idea where anything is and I’m sorry you probably don’t care”  
“I don’t see a key”  
Chuck really wanted to cry at how overwhelmed he was “I guess my sister was right, I should have stayed in California and lived with her forever” he sighed “Do you happen to know a locksmith?”  
“I think I see it under the porch” he was on his hands and knees using his phone as a flashlight  
“Okay, do you know a handyman?”  
“Let me see what I can do, but I think you should invest in a doormat, the slats on this porch are pretty wide”  
“Yeah, I figured that when my cane got stuck got the millionth time. I may have to just have the entire porch redone, it feels old. My grandparents owned this place, when my grandma died last month she left me and my sister the house and I got a job and moved out here. It hasn't even been a week and everything is going wrong"  
“You talk a lot”  
“My sister says what I lack in sight I make up for in talking”  
"So the Bartowskis are your grandparents"  
"Oh yes, I'm Chuck Bartowski, did you know them? Oh god, I just realized I have no idea who you are and I'm just letting you help me into my house, I'm going to get murdered."  
"I live next door, not gonna kill you. I'm John Casey, I used to mow the lawn and help from time to time, especially after Frank died. Sheila would bake stuff for me in return for helping her with stuff."  
"Oh so glad I met you, the lawyer left the number of the guy who mows the lawn forgetting I can't read. And sorry I can't bake, but I'll have you over for dinner if I ever get the house arranged"  
“I have a tool that I think will work, I'll be right back"  
“Thank you so much” Chuck didn’t want to risk sitting on the swing again so he just leaned up against the banister.  
‘Call from Ellie’ his phone called out “Of course” he muttered  
“Hi Ellie”  
“How are you doing? How is Thor?"  
“He is at the groomer, thought he could use a spa day, he has been working extra hard these past few days”  
“What are you doing?”  
“Sitting on the porch”  
“Isn't it a bit cold? Did you get the swing down?”  
“No, not yet, still working on finding someone to help with the handyman stuff and helping me get the house set up”  
“What did you mean about the house?”  
Crap “Uh yeah about that, the movers were not very nice, the house is all out of order and I have no idea where anything is. Thank god I can order food to be delivered”  
“Chuck, I’m taking time off and I’m going to fly out and help you, I knew this was a bad idea”  
“It wasn’t a bad idea, I’ve been making it work, I’m 25, I need to live my own life and not rely on you constantly”  
"You didn't live with me when you were at Stanford and you had help there and look how that turned out, and now you have no one, Chuck"  
"I'm fine Ellie"  
“It’s okay to need help Chuck”  
“I know, and someone from the blind school is going to come out and help me get organized but I have to wait for someone to be available”  
“I’ll never stop being worried”  
“I know that, and I love you for that” Chuck heard someone clear their throat.  
“I need to go”  
“Why?”  
“I’m not telling you”  
“Charles Bartowski”  
“Love you, Alfred end call” Chuck put his phone away “John is that you?”  
“Yes, is Alfred your boyfriend?"  
Chuck laughed "uh no, I'm every single, Alfred is my phone's name, too many people use Siri and Google, so I programmed mine to be Alfred. I made an app that works with the stuff already on phones and just made it a little better and that was my very worried sister who can never know about the key or getting lost or anything bad because she will fly here and drag me home"  
"I won't tell, can you hold the flashlight for me?”  
“Yeah just tell me where to point it” Chuck held out his hand  
“Come over towards the door”  
“If it’s easier just hold my upper arm and guide me where to sit then position my hand”

"So do you see it?"  
"Yeah" he grabbed Chuck's hand "Hold it here for a second"  
"What kind of tool are you using?"  
"Not sure what it's called, it's basically a metal tube with a spring-activated claw at the end so you push the button on one end and a metal claw comes out"  
"When we are done can I feel it?"  
"Sure"  
Chuck listened carefully at the sound Of the tool between the slats on the porch.  
"Got it"  
"Thank god"  
"Here I'll take the flashlight then hand you the tool"  
Casey watched as Chuck's fingers carefully ran along the textured metal.  
"This is cool, I had no idea this was a thing"  
"My dad was a jack of all trades so I have a garage full of the most random tools. Just be careful because that will pinch you"  
"Here, I'll trade you this for my key, I need to ice my wrist from falling off the swing and then I need to take a hammer to that stupid swing. I hate swings. Then I have to go get Thor"  
"I take it that's the dog"  
"Yes, he is my guide dog"  
"Here is your key, I hope you don't mind that I put a lanyard on it"  
"Oh, what is it?"  
"U.S. Marine Corps, its black with gold lettering and says Semper Fidelis"  
"Always faithful right?"  
"Yup"  
"You're a Marine?"  
"Yup"  
Chuck felt it when Casey put it in his hand. "I like how soft this is, thank you so much" he slid the lanyard over his head  
"I'll put my number in your phone if you want"  
"Please" Chuck handed his phone over "and please do first and last name"  
"Do you text? I'm kind of new to texting"  
"I do text, it reads to me as a run my fingers over the screen or I can ask Alfred to read it and I use voice to text. Most of the time I have an earbud in so people can't hear, but the voice is sped up so most people can't understand it anyway"  
"Well if you need anything just let me know"  
"Thanks"

"This is Casey"  
"Uh hi, this is Chuck, the blind guy"  
"Are you okay, you sound like you're crying?"  
"I'm not okay, but I don't think it's 9-1-1 bad"  
"Do you need me to come help"  
"If you're not busy"  
"I'm free today"  
"I don't want to bother you"  
"Tell me what happened while I get my shoes on"  
"Don't laugh"  
"I won't"  
"I was supposed to get help from someone to get my house set up and I still haven't been able too and I was trying to move what I think is my dresser and I fell and I'm stuck between the dresser and the wall and I'm disoriented and scared to move and Thor is outback and don't laugh about me crying right now because I'm really frustrated"  
"I'll be there in a minute"  
"The backdoor is unlocked, not sure about the front"

"It's me" Casey called out  
"Can you let Thor in first? He is probably worried"  
"Already got him"  
"I'm okay Thor, I'm back here, bring Casey to me"  
"Am I allowed to pet him?"  
"As long as his harness isn't on, but can you help me first?"  
"I'm going to slide the dresser away from you okay"  
When Casey pulled the dresser out Thor ran over and licked his face.  
"Okay buddy, I love you too, I promise I'm fine, well besides my bruised ego"  
"Need a hand?"  
"Yes please, and can you either find his harness or take me to the door so I can get my bearings"  
"No offense but I don't think I'll be able to find it, this place is a disaster"  
"Disaster yes, but I did find my keys, in my back when I fell" Chuck signed as Casey lead him to the door  
"I have today and the next two off, I'll help"  
"You don't have to"  
"I'm going to, you don't deserve this, and I want the name of the moving company and I want to know why there are quarters everywhere"  
"That would be from the coffee cans I had, that was left on top of a really tall stack of boxes, I couldn't feel them on top so when I pulled the box down they came crashing down. I have a bump on my head and I gave up after two hours of trying to find all the quarters. I used to save them when I was younger for the arcade, then when I went blind I couldn't really play them anymore but I kept saving them anyways. Which came in handy for laundry in college but now I think I just need to roll them and take it to the bank"  
"What room is the most important?"  
"Probably the kitchen, I've been either walking places or ordering food, I miss cooking"  
"You can cook?"  
Chuck laughed "I can, not without injuries but it's not impossible"  
"How can you tell what is what?"  
"I order groceries online, then when they get here I open everything and I have a label maker that prints braille and I label everything and put it away in a very specific spot and my oven and microwave have braille buttons"  
"Sorry for all the questions"  
"It's okay, I started going blind when I was three, lost it all when I was fifteen. I'm used to it and honestly, I don't mind"  
"Let's start with the quarters and go from there"

Five hours and a few breaks later, Chuck's house was no longer a hazard and mostly organized how he wanted it.  
"I'd offer to cook you dinner but as you can tell, no food"  
"I know a place that delivers the best burgers and fries"  
"I'm down, thank you so much"  
"No problem, I honestly don't mind. And tomorrow if you want, I'd like to drive you to the store to get seating for your front porch, and get that swing down"  
"You really don't have to"  
"I have a truck, and I want to help"  
"Is it because you feel bad for me?"  
"No, I just think it's messed up that the moving company fucked you over and you have no help here so I was trying to help. I can leave"  
"No it's fine, sorry, the last person to be nice to me was my roommate Bryce at Stanford and let's just say it didn't end well"  
"I'm not a great guy, honestly I'm an asshole who hates most people, but I don't plan on hurting you or screwing you over. Plus I'm mostly here for Thor"  
"Thor is a heart stealer"  
"I thought he was the god of thunder"  
"Oh my god are you a secret nerd? Remember making fun of all my nerdy stuff?"  
"Shut up and order your groceries, I'll order dinner"  
"I'm paying"

"I know you and Thor share a love for each other so I haven't put his harness on yet because once I put it on he is in work mode and you two have to ignore each other"  
Casey rubbed Thor's head "it will be hard but I'm sure we will manage"  
"Okay Thor, time for work" he held out the harness.  
"It is truly amazing watching him switch into work mode when that harness goes on"  
"He spent two years training and technically I work on training him daily. He is a good boy"

"So do you have an idea of what you want?"  
"I want at least two chairs and a small table to go between them for the front and a table with four or more chairs and an umbrella for the back. I'd like to sit outback to eat and enjoy the sunshine, the dining room doesn't have good natural light"  
"You can see that?"  
"Uh yeah I can see light, and if you are like standing in front of a bright light source I could see your outline. and if something is super reflective like a glitter I can see it"  
"Was that rude?"  
"No, some people don't like all the questions. I don't mind. I like educating people. Especially because my eyes look "normal" people think I'm lying. It's a genetic disorder, I can explain it in depth later if you want"  
"Ok, another stupid question? Do you have a style or color preference?"  
Chuck laughed "I trust your judgment on color because I forget what most colors are. I want comfortable for the front, and metal with cushions for the back, preferably no glass" Chuck rolled up his sleeve "See this scar" Chuck ran his finger over the pink lines on his right forearm "I was at a graduation pool party and tripped over someone's sandals they left out in the middle of the path and I fell into a glass table"  
"Shit"  
"Yeah, everyone said it was a bloodbath, that's one advantage to not being able to see, I stayed calm because it didn't hurt that bad and I couldn't see how bad it was"  
"Okay, no glass, I have an idea"  
"I know I don't need to say it but Thor follow Casey"

"Ouch, Casey are you there?"  
"I'm right in front of you"  
"Is something wrong? Thor just ran me into something"  
Casey looked around "Excuse me, can you please stop trying to distract the dog he is working"  
"Don't tell my kid what to do" came a voice Chuck didn't recognize.  
"Ma'am I don't know you but he is right, my dog is working and because your kid is distracting him he ran me into something. It's dangerous and I could really be hurt"  
"You don't look blind"  
Chuck shook his head "Oh right, sorry I must have forgotten to wear my I'm blind shirt. Have a nice day"  
Casey laughed.  
"Thor come on, work"  
"What a bitch"  
"Sadly I'm so used to it. I use to be mean about it, but now I try to kill them with kindness as they say"  
"I think you'll like these a few feet to the left, they are dark wicker with navy blue cushions that match the blue shutters on the house. Run your fingers over the texture"  
Chuck reached his hand out until he felt the chair. "Oh that is texturally pleasing"  
"The cushions are soft too, there is a matching table, it's round and has a glass top but you can take it off and it will still work but also it's solid wicker under the glass so you can't fall through it"  
Chuck sat down in the chair "Where is the table"  
"Right here"  
"And right here is where?"  
"Shit, it's on the left a few inches past the armrest and about the same height"  
"Okay, sold"  
"Let's go find the table for the back then get some lunch"  
"Do they have matching cushions, or does it matter since it's in the back"  
"They do have the same cushions you can buy separately for the metal chairs"  
"This was easier than I thought"  
"Do you want round or rectangle?"  
"Rectangle, it's easier to feel the edges, more painful sometimes, but I still prefer it"  
"How do you feel about a wood table? All these with the metal have glass tops"  
"As long as it has separate chairs, picnic tables are very hard to get in and out of"  
"This one has four chairs, two on one of the long side one on each short side and a bench but the bench isn't attached on the other long side"  
"Not that is matters but what color is it?"  
"Very light brown, the display has light green cushions and umbrella"  
"Does that look better than the navy?"  
"I'm a guy, I really don't know"  
"Let's just go with blue, and can I get two more chairs instead of the bench?"  
"Let me read what the tag says" Casey picked up the plastic card on the table "I just realized how difficult shopping could be if you were alone"  
"Yeah, it's a nightmare, braille is usually only on the bathroom signs" he laughed "I used to go to the same small grocery store when I was younger and had most of it memorized, then they did a remodel and I ended up having a panic attack and Ellie had to come pick me up. It was embarrassing"  
"How do you know prices?"  
"I have to ask"  
"Well this says the table is told with the umbrella and the chairs are sold in packs of two so yes you can do that"  
"I want six chairs, so I can have two them sitting off to the side too"  
"Want to know the prices?"  
"Probably not" he laughed. "Since that went faster than I thought, do they have plants?"  
"Real or fake?"  
"Real, I can't see fake flowers so I don't waste money on them but I can smell real ones, I want something to put on the banister, like a planter thing and I want some smell good flowers to put in it"  
After close to an hour of smelling and feeling flowers Chuck finally decided on some. Casey loaded the chairs and small table in the bed of his truck then scheduled the delivery for the rest of the stuff.  
"Lunch, my treat"  
"You just spent a small fortune on furniture and flowers I'll buy"  
"If you insist"  
"There is a great buffet down the street"  
Chuck laughed  
"What?"  
"You want to take the blind guy to a buffet, that most likely isn't labeled with braille"  
"Right, I'm an idiot"  
"No you're not, we can go, you would just have to get my plate and list every single food"  
"We can go somewhere else"  
"I once had a date take me to the drive-thru and asked what I wanted from a place I had never been and said they just have burgers and stuff. Then there was the one who got mad that I asked them to read the menu to me. I could go on forever"  
"Where would you like to go?"  
"Somewhere you don't mind reading the menu to me, I prefer to sit down, it's hard to eat in the car”  
“No offense but I don’t want you eating in my truck”  
“Is it a nice truck? What color is it?"  
"Very nice, and it's black"  
"Um, what can I compare it too? I have trouble remembering what colors look like but sometimes if I compare it to like I remember what elephants look like and they are grey"  
"I was going to say a bear, but they are also brown and white"  
"Oh a zebra's stripes"  
"technically I think they are black with white stripes" Casey laughed. "So do you know what Thor looks like?"  
"He is a yellow lab, but I'm guessing he isn't banana yellow?"  
"What if I told you he was?"  
"That would kind of be amazing wouldn't it? But Ellie compared his coloring to sand, and I remember that because we spent a lot of time at the beach when I was growing up"  
"That's accurate"

“How many?”  
“Just the two of us, preferably a table, and do you have a braille menu?”  
“We do, follow me"  
“Thor follow please”  
“This is a square table with four chairs, there is caddy in the center that has napkins, salt, pepper, and ketchup”  
“Thank you so much, that was very helpful” Chuck felt one of the chairs before sitting on it.  
“Your menu is in front of you, silverware on the right, and if you want I can move this chair next to you so your dog has a place to sit and not have to be completely under the table”  
“You must know a blind person”  
“Both my parents are blind”  
Chuck smiled in the direction her voice is coming from. “This is the best experience I’ve had while out to eat, I can’t thank you enough”  
“If you need anything else just ask for me, my name is Kelsea”  
“Casey, where are you”  
“Right across from you”  
“Just checking”  
“That literally has never happened before” he took out his phone “Alfred, save restaurant location”  
Chuck ran his fingers over the pages of the menu slowly “Most places do have at least one braille menu, but if it gets ruined they tend not to replace it, and with braille, you kind of can't read it if a bump is missing and sometimes they don't update it when there is a menu change"  
“Can you show me?”  
“So imagine six dots, three rows of two, all the letter and one through nine and punctuation only use those six dots. So this says Beverages. The B is two dots on top of each other. You can look up a cheat sheet on your phone to see all the different letters. it may be easier than me explaining it"  
The waiter walked up “Hello, I’m Logan, can I get you something to drink and an appetizer”  
“I want lemonade and do you have potato skins? I haven't read that part of the menu yet”  
“We do”  
“I want those with a side of olives please”  
“I’ll take a peach lemonade”  
“Oh wait, they have flavored lemonade? That’s not on my menu”  
“It’s on the little card at the top of the caddy, there is peach, mango, prickly pear and blackberry”  
“Can I change mine to prickly pear, and a cup of water for Thor please”  
“I’ll be right back with that”  
“Prickly pear?”  
“I have no idea, sounded fun”  
Casey laughed “Of course”  
“Can you keep an eye out for anyone trying to feed Thor, it happens almost every single time I bring him somewhere”  
“I don’t think there is enough education out there about it, I only know some because I’ve worked alongside with bomb-sniffing K-9s, but that bitch at the store just didn't even care to be informed and that pisses me off”  
“Well get used to it if you plan on hanging out with me in public because it always happens”  
“Here are your lemonades, and I went ahead and got a bowl of water for your dog instead of a cup”  
“Oh thank you, Casey do you mind putting it down there for him so I don't dump it on his head. I've done that before and he pouted the rest of the day like it was the worst thing to ever happen to him"  
“Sure”  
“Do you guys need a minute or do you know what you want to order?”  
They both ordered  
“Did you know they have service dogs for people with insane allergies. The dog smells the food and will alert them if it has the thing, how insane is that. I don’t have any allergies so Thor didn’t have to learn that, but I guy I knew back in Cali, he was super allergic a lot of stuff and his dog, Moose was trained to help him avoid them”  
“I did not know that”  
Chuck took a drink of his lemonade “You have to try this, so weird”  
Casey stuck his straw into Chuck’s drink “What the fuck is that?”  
“I like it”  
“I’m not surprised, want to try mine?”  
“Sure” Chuck carefully felt for the other cup and moved his straw to it before picking it up to take a drink. “Oh that’s good”  
“Potato skins are on the way”  
“I didn’t even ask if you liked them”  
“I do, but I don’t understand the olives”  
“I just really like them, plus Thor likes them too so I share”  
“Do you have to do something special to before you feed him since he has a harness on?”  
“Yeah I tell him treat, but he knows that he is currently in work mode but basically on a break, he knows to ignore other people and help if I need it but have a treat if I say it and give it to him. And since I just said it twice I'm going to give him one” He held a few olives in his hand under the table. “But again, each dog and handler have different rules but Thor has never had food issues so this works for us"  
“Did you have a service dog before him?”  
“No, he is my first one, they are anywhere for twenty to thirty thousand dollars, sometimes more depending on the training and services they do”  
“Holy shit”  
“So I started saving as much as I could, got full scholarships to school so I didn't have to worry about that and eventually I was able to get him last year”  
“Are you sure all the questions are okay?”  
“Yeah but I feel like I know nothing about you”  
“Ask, just know most things that happened to me after I turned eighteen is top secret”  
“Wait, how old are you?”  
“Thirty-seven”  
“You’re twelve years older than me? Wow I had no idea”  
“Is that a bad thing?”  
“No, no not all, I just thought you were closer to my age”  
“I was born and raised in Indiana, parents divorced when I was twelve, dad moved out here, he passed away three years ago and my mom still lives in Indiana, I have no siblings. I joined the Marines at eighteen, I’ve been all over the place and came to North Carolina about five years ago and I’ve been here between tours”  
"How often do you have to do Marine stuff?"  
"Marine stuff?" Casey laughed "I work at the base Thursday through Sunday then when they call and tell me I'm shipping out I go wherever they send me for however long they need me"  
"What do you do?"  
"Can't tell you"  
"Interesting"  
"I can give you a tour of the base sometime if you want, introduce you to some of the dogs"  
"I'd like that"

"Stay in the truck, I'll be right back"  
"Are we at my house?"  
"Yes, I need to do something really quick"  
"You know I'm blind right? I can't actually see what you are doing"  
"Shut up"  
"Rude"

"Come on" Casey opened the truck door.  
"Yes sir"  
"It's on the porch"  
"Why does it feel different?"  
"I bought you a rug"  
"You didn't have to do that"  
"But I did, It goes from the edge here to the door and it's about the width of the entry of the porch and it's thin so you shouldn't trip on the edges"  
"That's so thoughtful, thank you"  
"Now let's work on getting this swing down and getting the new chairs set up"  
"Does your house have a porch?"  
"It does"  
"Does it have a swing?"  
"Just an old rocking chair"  
"You can take the swing if you want, use it or sell it or burn it. I'd love to burn it"  
"I know it hit you, but why do you hate swings so much?"  
"Close your eyes, walk over to it, try to sit down and swing for a few minutes, keeping your eyes closed, it fucks with your head"  
"I'll take your word for it, and I'll take the swing"

"Who is it?"  
"Casey"  
Chuck opened the front door "Oh hi"  
"I knocked earlier but you didn't answer, your furniture was delivered and its all on the patio but I wasn't sure how you wanted it so I knocked again in case you didnt hear it"  
"Oh I was in the shower, let's go look at it, or well feel it" Chuck shrugged leading Casey through the house  
"I was wondering if the keys you found included the key to the garage?"  
"Yes" Chuck felt his keys that were on the lanyard around his neck "I believe it's this one"  
"I gave my keys for this place to the lawyer in case they sold the place, and I have a few things in there"  
"A lot of the stuff was sold in the house before I got here, but I don't know if they did anything with the garage, but if they did I'll pay to replace it"  
"We can check after we get the backyard set up"

"I wish you could see the beauty of this car"  
"What is it?"  
"A 1985 Crown Victoria, she is so sexy"  
"It's a car"  
"A sleek black beautiful car"  
"Do you have a thing for all vehicles or just sleek black ones?"  
"A bit of both"  
Chuck held his hand out to feel along the front of the car "I wonder if I now own it? I'll have to call Ellie. But if it's mine you can have it"  
"You can't just give me a car"  
"I'm blind, I can't drive. Why would I sell it to a stranger if you want it?"  
"I'll buy it"  
"I won't take your money"  
"Looks like all the stuff is still here"  
"Seriously take whatever, I have no use for anything, and if you know people maybe we can sell or donate the other stuff" Chuck took out his phone "Alfred video call Ellie"  
"Hey baby brother, move it up a bit, okay now I can see you"  
"Damn I can't see you"  
"Still not funny"  
"I have a question and I want to show you something, do you have a minute?"  
"Of course"  
"Do you know anything about this car, Alfred turn camera around"  
"Oh grandpas old car, I'll have to look through all the paperwork but I'm pretty sure I have the title"  
"I'd like to give it to the neighbor"  
"What do you mean give it to the neighbor?"  
"I'll be right back Casey, I'm going to show her the new furniture, hold Ellie, let me find my way to the backyard"

"So who is Casey and why are you just giving the car away?"  
"John Casey is the neighbor, he used the help our grandparents and he has been helping me the past few days get the house situated and take down the swing. He took me to the store yesterday and I wanted to show you the stuff I got" he held his phone up "Do you see it?"  
"Move it down, okay to the left, up a little bit. That is really nice"  
"I can't wait to eat out here, the house doesn't have enough windows"  
"Now to the front, I'll take you through the house and you can say hi to Thor then see the front porch"

"This rug Casey got me because my cane kept getting caught, we took the swing down, I actually helped. And now I have these chairs which feel really nice to the touch"  
"So this John Casey guy has been helping you and he bought you a rug and you want to give him grandpas old car?"  
"He used to help them and then he introduced himself to me the other day when I lost my key and fell off the swing and he really likes the car and he is a Marine and has been for almost twenty years. He is a great guy and I want him to have the car"  
"Go back to the part about you losing your key and falling?"  
"Damn it, I forgot I wasn't going to tell you that"  
"Charles Bartowsi"  
"The movers messed up the house which I told you, but then I lost my keys so I was using the spare and I lost it under the porch so I was sitting on the swing and a cat scared me and I fell off. Casey saved the day"  
"Is there anything else I need to know?"  
"No"  
"Turn your camera around so I can see your face"  
"Alfred camera selfie mode"  
"Now tell me again it's nothing more"  
"Ellie I've only known him for three days, we are friends"  
"Stop keeping secrets from me"  
"Love you, Ellie"  
"The furniture looks great Chuck, I'll text you later. Love you"

Chuck made his way back to the garage, and of course, he tripped over a box and slammed right into what he assumed was a workbench when he heard a bunch of metal clang as it hit the floor. "Ouch"  
"Are you okay Chuck?"  
"Yeah, I just tripped over this box"  
"Oh fuck, sorry I put that there so I would remember to grab it on the way out"  
"I probably look like a dalmatian after the last week and a half trying to get used to the layout of the house. Pretty sure I've run into everything in there"  
"So did your sister like the furniture?"  
"I think so, she was more concerned that I was dating a strange man that was taking advantage of my blindness for a free car"  
"She said that?"  
"Not in that many words"  
"I'm not"  
"I know that, and don't worry, you will get the car"  
"Even if I don't, I still plan on helping you"  
"Thanks, I'm going to go in and cook us dinner"  
"I'm gonna sort some of this stuff, let me know when it's ready"

"Please tell me you are home"  
"I am"  
"Remember that orange cat you told me about that made me fall off the swing? Well, I think that demon came into my house. I thought I felt something run past me, and I keep hearing stuff and Thor is barking and he never barks when it's not an emergency"  
"I need to put clothes on then I'll be there"

"You know if you kept the front door shut random animals won't run into your house"  
"Fuck, you scared me, walk louder"  
"I've spent years training to make no noise"  
"Well, I hate it and I just came inside from sitting on the front porch listening to an audio book and I left it open in case he decides to leave"  
"What if he invites all his friends in?"  
"Then I become an old cat lady I guess" Chuck laughed at the idea.  
"Stand by the door and let me know if you feel him run out, I'll go track down the intruder"

"Casey? I don't hear anything, did it murder you? Is it hiding your body in the backyard?"  
"Yes"  
Chuck jumped "Oh my god stop doing that you sneaky asshole"  
Casey laughed "He was under your bed"  
"I'm putting a bell on you and that stupid cat"  
"Mr. Fuzz Aldrin"  
"You're lying!"  
"Nope, he has a space-themed collar and a name tag, he lives three houses down"  
"Are you holding him?"  
"Yeah"  
"Does he seem friendly?"  
"He is letting me hold him without a fight"  
Chuck held out his hand until he felt the fluffy fur "Oh so soft, we should take him home and ask them nicely to get him a bell"  
"Grab Thor's leash, we can take him on a walk while we are at it, then you can cook me dinner"

Casey was amazed watching Chuck work in the kitchen, over the month he has known him almost everything Chuck does amazed him.  
"Shit, do you have allergies?"  
"Nope"  
"Food you hate?"  
"Nope"  
"Not a single food?"  
"When you're in the military you learn quickly eat what you get or don't eat at all"  
"That makes sense"  
"You've cooked for me six times already, and you're just now asking?"  
"Well I'm making shrimp and it just occurred to me"  
"Would it be rude to ask if I can help"  
"Not rude, but no I don't need help, no offense but if you put something in the wrong spot it could be a disaster"  
"I'm getting better at that"  
"I'm making smoked sausage, shrimp and rice thing, not sure what it's actually called"  
"How did you learn to cook?"  
"My mom was very good at teaching me how to take care of myself. I didn't know it was because she was planning to leave a few months after my vision was completely gone"  
"Damn seriously, that's horrible"  
"My dad left a few years before that, thankfully Ellie is amazing and took care of me and got me into a school for the blind, then I went to Stanford, almost got kicked out, then got Thor, did some teaching at the blind school then moved here"  
"You've never told me about your parents before"  
"It's hard to talk about"  
"Let's talk about something else"  
"How is work? I know you can't talk about it, just curious"  
"I don't want to ruin this night, but I really need to tell you something"  
"Um okay, is it bad?"  
"I don't like people, I always stay to myself, your grandparents were always great to me and I thought I'd come help you out with stuff, but then we became friends so this makes it even harder"  
"I'm freaking out"  
"I have to leave"  
"What do you mean leave?"  
"I'm shipping out Monday"  
"To where? For how long?"  
"I can't say where, but it's looking like it will be six months"  
Chuck's hand slipped and the knife he was using to cut the peppers cut his finger instead. "Goddammit" he threw the knife on the counter and felt his way over to the sink wrapping his finger in a washcloth  
"Are you okay?"  
"I have no idea? I can't see remember" he didn't mean to yell, he was just more upset than he thought he would be.  
"Can I see?"  
"No it's fine, I can figure it out on my own"  
"Chuck"  
"I'm sorry, I'm no longer hungry and the peppers are probably contaminated so you should probably just head home"  
"I'll leave after I make sure your finger is okay"  
"I'm fine, I swear, please leave"  
"I'm sorry you're upset, I didn't know you when I signed up, I didn't just decide"  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I'll need to hire someone to take care of the yard and help me with random things"  
"There is a kid in the neighborhood that will mow it, and my cousin will be living in my house while I'm gone if you want I can introduce you two. And for the record, I've only known since yesterday"  
"Thor is really going to miss you" he blinked a tear out of his eye.  
"Yeah I'm really going to miss him too"  
"I know I told you it was weird and most blind people I know don't actually do this, but can I feel what you look like?"  
"Sure, after your fingers stops bleeding"  
"Right" he held his hand up so Casey could see it"  
"That's bad"  
"It doesn't feel bad"  
"It's at least three stitches bad"  
"Oh no" Chuck started to panic "please tell me you are lying"  
"Calm down" Casey wrapped a towel tightly around it "Do you still have feeling in it?"  
"I have no idea, I uh"  
"Seriously calm down or you will elevate your heart rate and bleed more"  
"Thor should stay home, I need my shoes and I don't know where my medical folder is, Ellie, is going to be so mad"  
"We will get it taken care of, hold this as tight as you can, I'm going to put my shoes on then I'm going to get my truck and pull into the driveway and then I'll come get you, you're just going to keep your slippers on"

"As if I needed something to make my life harder" Chuck right fingers felt along the bandage on his left pointer finger.  
"At least you didn't take a chunk out of it"  
"Shut up"  
"That's my line"  
"I can tell you're smirking"  
"Whatever"  
"You know Thor probably ate all that sausage, he only behaves when the harness is on"  
"I'm about to pull into the Rally's drive-thru. Have you been here?"  
"Uh yeah, they have the most amazing fries"  
"They are close to home so we can order and take it home so no eating in the car"  
"I want a number one with the largest thing of fries possible and a chocolate shake"  
"How do you feel about cheese fries?"  
"They have cheese fries? Hell yeah"

They were sitting on Chuck's couch watching a movie, Casey had no idea they had movies that explained what was going on for people who are blind or had low vision.  
"A large fry and half a cheese fry and that burger, I may die" Chuck rubbed his stomach  
"I don't usually eat fast food so I'm probably going to die too"  
"So today is Wednesday and you work the next four days then leave Monday?"  
"They are nice enough to give me three days off, I go in Sunday for my assignment and briefing and shit like that, then I report to the airport on Monday and fly to Florida to get on a ship to an undisclosed location"  
"I'm really going to miss you"  
"Let's not talk about it"  
"Can I see you before you leave Monday?"  
"I was hoping you could come to the airport with me, my cousin's flight should be in a little after mine leaves. I was thinking I could set up a video call between you two before then and she can bring you home"  
"She doesn't live around here?"  
"She travels for a living, writes for some magazine so any time I get shipped out she comes here to watch the house"  
"And now watch me?"  
"You'll be just fine Chuck"  
"What if our favorite furry astronaut sneaks in, or I lose my key or need stitches"  
"Chuck"  
"Sorry, you're right, I'll be fine"  
"I'm sure you and Sarah will get along great" Casey put his hand on Chuck's thigh squeezing it. "I'll be fine too Chuck"  
"I hope so, Thor wouldn't know what to do without you"

"What are you wearing?"  
"Is this some weird blind person sex thing?"  
Chuck blushed "No weirdo, I was just curious if you were in uniform"  
"I am"  
"Can I feel?"  
"Of course"  
Chuck reached his hand out feeling the rough fabric across Casey's chest "This seems uncomfortable and hot,  
"I'm used to it"  
"What does it look like?"  
"It's greens, browns and black camo"  
"So like trees if I remember correctly”  
"Yeah, let me show you the shape"  
Casey grabbed Chuck's finger running it over one of the colored shaped "This repeats over the entire thing in the different colors and sizes"  
"Are you wearing dog tags?"  
"Always"  
"I've never heard them"  
"I keep them under my shirt" Casey pulled them out "and they have rubber around the edge so they don't make noise, feel"  
"Oh I didn't know it was punched like this" he ran his finger over the raised letters and numbers. "I can't tell what it says but I like how it feels"  
"Here can you feel this" he moved his hand to the name tag on the front of his uniform "It's J. Casey"  
"I can kind of feel it. I forget what some letter shapes are though, my brain has replaced that knowledge with braille"  
"You still have permission to touch my face if you still want to"  
"Is anyone watching?"  
"They are all distracted with their own good byes"  
"Thor lay down, stay" Chuck let go of the handle on the harness so he could use both hands. "What color is your hair?"  
"Medium brown, let me take my hat off"  
"What about your eyes?"  
"Blue"  
"Like the ocean?"  
"Yeah"  
Casey closed his eyes trying to lock every second of this into his memory as Chuck's fingers gently touched his face"  
"Can you make that smirky face I know you're making when you are being a sarcastic ass" Chuck laughed as Casey did it. "I honestly thought you would have facial hair and less hair on your head, oh do you have tattoos?"  
"My hair will get cut short in a day or two and facial hair is usually a no in the military depending on your job, and no tattoos"  
"You have a scar on your cheek"  
"I was four, fell and got a rusty nail through the cheek"  
"Oh my god eww"  
There was an announcement that Casey's flight was boarding.  
"I promise I'll email you when I can, and I should be able to call a few times, it just depends"  
"I know you don't like hugs but can I please hug you?"  
Chuck was slightly startled when he felt big arms wrap around him.  
Chuck was crying as he bent over to take Thor's harness off so he could say bye to Casey too.  
"Take care of him Thor, don't let that Fuzz into the house again, and don't let him sit on any swings, and make sure he gets to the right gate to get Sarah"  
"See you later Casey"  
"See you in six months Bartowski"  
"Six months" Chuck was startled when he felt Casey's hands cup his face and lightly pressing their lips together. 

“Video call from John Casey”  
“Shit, Uh Alfred answer”  
“Chuck?”  
“Hey Casey, can you hear me?”  
“Yeah, where are you?”  
“I’m in the shower, I’m almost done”  
“Is it difficult to shower?”  
“It can be, I make sure I always have the same smelling stuff so I don’t get it mixed up, and I put these foam things that are made for kids bathtime, they stick to the wall so I have an X on the door, an F on the same wall as the faucet and this shower has a textured tile just on what I call the back wall so I can keep oriented pretty well, but yes I have gotten lost in shower before”  
Casey laughed “Sorry for laughing but I just imagined you lost in a shower”  
“So you’re imagining me in a shower?”  
"Shut up, you know the only reason I was allowed to video call you is because you are blind and can't see where I am or what time of day it is”  
“How did you prove it to them?”  
“I showed them the selfie you sent me”  
“That was enough?”  
“I also showed them the article the school put out about their new blind teacher"  
“Why did you want to video call me though? I can’t see you”  
“I could use seeing a friendly face”  
“Right, let me get Thor and you two can talk while I get dressed” Chuck wrapped a towel around his waist “Thor, Casey is on the phone” Chuck put the phone up on the chair in his room so it was propped up against the back eye level with Thor. Chuck couldn't help but smile hearing Casey talk to him and hearing Thor’s tail hitting the floor as it wagged.

“Sorry, Thor my turn” He picked up the phone then sitting in the chair “Can you see me?”  
“I mean technically” he laughed “But mostly your neck”  
“How about now?”  
“That’s good”  
“So what time is it there? It’s around ten or wait um twenty-two hundred here”  
“Good job and can’t tell you”  
“Right, that sucks, I can’t imagine how the spouses deal with it, you are just my friend and it bothers me”  
“It’s worse for the ones with kids”  
“Oh shit I didn't even think about that”  
“On to a better subject, how is class planning going?”  
“Not too bad, I meet with my teaching assistant next month sometime so they can learn more about how I work and what exactly he will need to do to help me. Did I tell you about my last assistant in California?”  
“I don’t think so”  
“He learned sign language so we could work better together”  
“You’re lying”  
“Nope, me and Morgan laughed so hard we were crying. He didn't think it was funny”  
“Let’s hope your new one is better”  
“She seems really sweet from her emails, and her brother went blind a few years ago after an accident so she knows a bit, so I hope it helps”  
“I should be back sometime before Halloween. I can’t give an exact time or date, but that's the estimation right now”  
“Back in California at the blind school we used to have an event where we dressed up the guide dogs and passed out candy, I'll have to see if they do that here, Thor loves dressing up”  
“I need pictures of that”  
“I’ll email you some”  
“How are things with Sarah? Your last email didn't say”  
“It’s going great, she kind of scares me, and she is now mowing the lawn because she scared the poor boy off because he didn’t weed eat around the fence properly”  
“Sounds about right, I hate to do this, but my time is up, it was good seeing both of you, please keep the emails coming. I don’t always get to reply, but I do get to read them”  
“Have a great day, or goodnight, whatever it is”  
“Goodnight Chuck and Thor”  
“Alfred end call”  
Thor whined “I know buddy, I miss him too” He rubbed Thor’s head that was resting in his lap.

‘Hi, Casey,  
Sarah helped me find all the pictures and attached them to this email. I haven't heard from you since the video call. Hope all is well, sorry I haven't written anything either but honestly my life is super boring and I didn’t know what to say, so basically I jyned myself. Today has been bad.  
I could have used you to keep me calm, Thor stepped on a bee at the dog park and his paw is really swollen, this nice lady with a Saint Bernard, his name is Spock, they drove us to the emergency vet and they gave him medicine and they have to keep him overnight. It’s like midnight and I can’t sleep I’m so worried about him and can’t stop crying, and you know when you are sad you fall down a hole of sadness and I realized it had been three weeks since I heard from you so my mind is going to all those dark places. And now I realize sending you bad news probably isn't a good idea.  
I don't want to put bad energy out there, but I hope if anything at all happens to you, someone would let me know.  
I planted some flowers along the dirt path between our houses, I’m going to have Sarah help me get some stone to put down too.  
Sorry I don’t know what else to say. I hope the pictures make you smile.  
I miss you so much’

“Phone call from unknown number”  
“Hello this is Chuck Bartowski”  
“Hello this is Major John Casey”  
“Oh my god, Casey, thank you so much for calling me”  
“I told them it was a family emergency, how is Thor?”  
“We just got home a few hours ago, the swelling has gone down, but he can’t work for a few days, then he goes back for a follow up”  
“I’m glad he is okay”  
“I don’t know what I’d do without him”  
“Don’t think like that and just so you know, I'm fine but if anything happens someone will call you okay. but I'll be fine, I promise"  
"Thank you"  
"So what else is going on?"  
“I’m thinking about flying out to California for a week or two, that way Thor can get some time off and I can be around friends”  
“I think that's a good idea. I left you a gift"  
"Where?"  
"Sitting on the dining room table"  
"Oh you sneaky asshole"  
"I wasn't going to tell you until you found it, but since you're having a bad day I thought you could use it"  
Chuck made his way into the dining room.  
"It should be right in the middle"  
Chuck ran his hand across the wood table until he came across something rough. "It feels like your camo"  
"It is. It's a bear made out of an old uniform shirt, it has a name tag too, but I had it made in braille, and it has a mock dog, it has my your name and Thor's name in braille and I asked them to outline some of the camo on the back so you could feel it"  
"Casey I don't know what to say. This is amazing, and yes I'm crying"  
"I ordered it from Fuzz's owner the day I found out I was leaving, then emailed them before the plane left asking for them to outline the camo since you were so interested then Sarah snuck it in for me"  
“This probably isn’t a good time to talk about this, but did that kiss mean something more than a friendly goodbye kiss?”  
“To me it was"  
"Casey? hello?" Chuck smacked the table "Dammit"

‘Hopefully, you get this picture of me at the beach with Thor, he is almost back to normal, he has really been enjoying the vacation and time with Clara, and Ellie insisted I send a picture of me with the bear, so enjoy. Yes, I'm rolling my eyes.  
Sorry, I brought up that kiss, let’s forget about it okay.  
I brought the bear with me, and I hold it when I'm sad or stressed or when I miss you. The texture on the back is nice to mindlessly run my fingers over to keep me calm. Again thank you so much.  
I’m heading back to NC tomorrow then have three days until I meet up with my assistant, her name is Lindsey. I’m starting to get excited about teaching again, I am nervous about how the kids will react about having a blind teacher, and I'm getting nervous because I've never taught young kids, only middle and high school, so third grade will be a new experience but I’m more excited than nervous.  
I really hope you hear from you soon  
-Chuck’

'Really busy, sorry call cut off. hope to be able to send a longer message soon. Just letting you know I'm okay. Thanks for the pictures. -Case'

'I love that your last message was sent so quick you just put Case like you didn't have enough time to put the y. I'll send a picture with every email now. Thor slept on your porch yesterday while Sarah mowed. He is so sad it breaks my heart. but his paw is all healed and he is back to work, we just need to spend more time training because he is kinda slacking. and Sarah found a groomer that comes to the house in this truck thing that has a full station in the back and the ladies let me help and it was really fun. Those are today's pictures. Sarah said she hasn't ever seen me smile that big. So I hope it makes you smile. Thor sends cuddles and can't wait to cuddle up on the couch with you.  
-Chuc  
that made me laugh more than it should have'

'Hey, Nerd. I really fucking hope you can read this. It's taken a while but I've tracked down this weird machine that types out braille then learned how to use it.  
Now I'm even more impressed by your skills as a blind person.  
How is Thor? Give him a hug and a few treats for me. Sorry the last call got disconnected.  
The kiss meant everything to me, Chuck. I’m not good with talking about feelings, but when I get home if you want I can show you just what you mean to me and how bad I’ve been wanting to kiss you again.  
This may be the only letter I'm able to send but I'll keep emailing you.  
Hope this letter finds its way to you.  
See you soon nerd.  
-Major Casey'  
this took half the day to do. hope it's right.

'I really hope this letter gets to you, I'm using this old typewriter my mom bought me, the keys are braille. I had Lindsey help me get the ink strips in and write the address on the envelope.  
You have no idea how much your letter meant to me. I've never had a letter written to me in braille, and there were very little typos, and those machines aren't that easy especially since you don't know braille and had to look up each letter. So impressive Major.  
The fact that you tracked a braille writer down wherever you are is amazing. Yes i did cry, shut up.  
I hope you are safe and kicking ass at the same time. I hate never knowing when I'll hear from you again. Thor cries for you and it breaks my heart, I tell him every day that you will be back in a few months, so don't break his heart.  
You have my full permission to kiss me as much as you want anytime you want!  
Not sure how much paper is left or if it's Legible so I'm going to end it.  
Miss you  
"See" you soon Major Casey  
-Nerd Chuck  
Hope they let you have the picture of me and Thor, Sarah took it, she said it’s a good one.

'They let me keep the picture. I put it up on the wall next to my bed. Seeing you two smiling gets me through the hard days. Wish I could tell you about this place. One guy got in trouble for telling his girlfriend one small detail that you wouldn't think was a big deal but it was.  
This is the first time on a mission I've actually wanted to be at home instead.  
It's been a difficult few months and I can't wait to be with you and Thor again and have some home-cooked food.  
Good luck on your first day  
-Major Casey'

'That one Marine guy who wears camo,  
My birthday is next week (The 29th) I work then Sarah and Lindsey are taking me out for dinner, I think they are now best friends, maybe more, they won't tell me. Ellie said she is having a cake ordered and brought to my house and I'm supposed to video call her so she can watch me blow out the candles but only is Sarah or Linds is here so I don't burn myself. The cleaning lady that comes once a month was sick so she sent a coworker, so guess who ended up getting slightly lost in the shower and running right into the glass part that isn't the door. All I could think is how hard you would be laughing if you were here and I had to call you to help me out and that made me laugh and not get upset. Thor helped me so I managed to find my way out to email you about it.  
Start making a mental list of everything you want me to cook when you come home in about a month. I'm cooking for you every single day.  
-That blind guy who gets lost in the shower for your amusement'

'The blind guy who never fails to make me smile.  
Damn, I wish I was there, thanks for the laugh. maybe we can come up with a better system so it doesn't happen again. I hope Thor got extra treats for saving you ass. I'm working on a list right now, I still want to try that shrimp, sausage, rice thing with no name. and I dream about that lasagna thing you made but honestly ill eat anything afer all these months of meals in a bag. I'm buying some and making you try them.  
Not sure when you will get this, but I hope your birthday is great, when I get home we can have some cake. I hope you enjoy the gift I got you. It should be there the day of your birthday.  
-The badass in camo.


	2. Chapter 2

When Chuck walked into his house Thor started to whine and bark  
"Thor, what's wrong buddy? Hello is someone there?"  
"Surprise" a bunch of voices called out  
"Holy shit" Chuck put his hand on his chest "What is going on?"  
"Happy Birthday Chuck"  
"Ellie? Oh my god," he held out his arms to hug her. "What are you doing here? Also, that sucked and I slightly hate you for it"  
"Devon, Morgan and I flew in to see you for your birthday, I made a few calls and invited some of your colleagues from the school and a few of the people you met at the blind school”  
Thor was pulling on the harness still whining "Why is Thor acting weird? He is never like this when the harness is on"  
"Maybe you should see where he wants to take you"  
"I swear if he is doing this to get cake he is in big trouble. Ok Thor lead the way"  
He practically ripped the handle from Chuck's hand when he jumped up on someone "Thor bad, you know better, sit" When he felt Thor sit he took his harness off. "I'm so sorry he is never like this"  
"Guess he missed me," a familiar voice said.  
"Casey?"  
"Happy Birthday Chuck"  
Chuck dropped the harness so he could use both hands to reach out for Casey, once he felt the rough fabric of his uniform "It's really you"  
"It's really me"  
“What are you doing here?”  
“I’m home”  
“Is this the part when I kiss you as I cry and everyone stares at us and we become one of the viral soldier coming home videos?"  
“That’s exactly it”  
“I’m blind so how about you kiss me so I don’t miss and embarrass myself" Chuck smiled.  
Chuck really wished there wasn't a room full of people watching so he could spend the rest of the night making up for the past five months, but instead it was a short kiss no tongue followed by a very long hug.  
"You don't smell like you"  
"We always celebrate with a cigar before we fly home, plus I'm probably sweaty and gross but I didn't want to be late"  
"So you’re gay? When did that happen?” came another familiar voice  
“It started as a seven-day free trial, but I forgot to cancel so here we are”  
Casey laughed "Go hang out with your family, I'm going to take a quick shower and change then I’ll be back"  
"Thor might follow you"  
"I'm fine with that"  
"Damn Chuck, you move to North Carolina and get a smokin hot soldier boyfriend?"  
"Shut up Morgan"  
"Dude why didn't you tell me?"  
"Nothing is official, we had a quick kiss before he left and we briefly talked about wanting to kiss again so we did"  
"So are you gay?"  
"You know I've never really cared. I fall for people and who they are"  
"Well from a straight man's point of view. He is hot dude, like huge muscles, great eyes, a sharp jawline that could cut glass."  
"Thanks, Morgan, now lead me to the cake since my guide dog like the hot soldier better"

"Alfred send a text to John Casey"  
"New message to John Casey"  
"Did you get lost in the shower question mark or did you and Thor run away together question mark or are you here watching me text you question mark. Alfred send"  
"Text from John Casey"  
"Alfred read message"  
"Sitting out on the patio with Devon, Thor is sitting on my feet with his head on my lap follow the sound of his snoring."  
Chuck walked towards his living room out the big double doors that were left open so people could flow between inside and outside.  
"Over to the left bro"  
"Hey Awesome"  
"Happy Birthday Chuckster" Devon pulled him into a hug.  
"Casey?"  
"I'm here"  
"I'll leave you two alone, I'm gonna go find Clara"  
"I just helped Ellie put her to bed, you guys have the room furthest back on the left, it's the master so there is a bathroom in there and Morgan has one of the other room, not sure which one."  
"Where do you sleep bro?"  
"Oh I use what used to be the study, so I don't have to use the stairs and the bathroom down here is smaller so it's safer"  
"Got it. Nice meeting you John"  
"You too Devon." Casey waited until he walked away “Why do you call him Awesome?”  
“Technically it’s Captain Awesome” Chuck laughed. “He is just awesome at everything and an awesome person so we call him that”  
“Weird”  
"Is my pathetic dog still on your lap?"  
"He is"  
Chuck reached over and felt Casey's jeans.  
"That's my crotch Bartowski"  
Chuck quickly pulled his hand back "Oh god I'm so sorry"  
Casey was laughing "I'm kidding, it was just my leg, give me your hand"  
He grabbed Chuck's hand putting it on Thor's head.  
"You’re an ass"  
"The look on your face was worth it"  
"How are you here right now?"  
"I was done doing what I needed to do and I asked nicely to come home for your birthday"  
"I know we have now kissed twice but I'm not sure what we are but even if it's just friends I'd really like for you to sleep in my bed tonight, nothing sexual I just want to be next to you. And you can say no"  
"I don't want to be just friends, I'd like you to be my boyfriend,  
“I’d like that too”  
“I’d kiss you right now but your sister is glaring at us and it may be because from her angle it looks like you're jacking me off"  
"Oh god" he turned towards the door "Ellie I'm petting Thor, I swear" he could hear someone he assumed was Ellie walking towards them. "Would you like to open gifts? It's just Me, Devon, Morgan and John, everyone else left"  
"Yeah sure, can we do it out here or is it too dark for everyone else?"  
"What about the light stands? Where is the switch?”  
“What light strands? There are some switches by the backdoor”  
Ellie flipped the switched until the backyard lit up  
“Oh, I can kind of see them, who did this? Casey, did you do this?”  
“I asked Sarah to do something”  
“Can someone shut the lights off in the house so it's darker out here, just for a minute” Chuck closed his eyes.  
“Okay they are off”  
Chuck opened his eyes again “Wow”  
“Can you see them?” Casey walked up next to him  
“Kind of, I can't see the shape of the bulb but it’s like what I remember a night sky with stars looks like”  
Casey watched Chuck’s eyes moved around following the stands of lights that went along the top of his wooden fence and around the big tree back to the fence and up to the house.  
“Okay, we can turn the light back on if you guys need them and sit down” he hugged Casey “Thank you” he whispered in his ear.

"You guys really didn't have to get me stuff, just being here is more than enough"  
"Start with mine" Morgan shoved a bag into his hands  
"You guys know I'm blind, you don't have to wrap the gifts"  
"And we always have this conversation, just open the gifts Chuck" Ellie poked his side.  
Chuck dug around in the tissue paper until he felt the first thing. He held the cube in both hands feeling it "I can't tell what it is"  
"It's a Rubix cube, but braille, there is also a gift card in there, and I even used the braille label maker you left to put the restaurant name on it"  
"Oh wow" Chuck started twisting it around "I'm so excited to try this, thanks to Morgan"  
"This is from me and Devon" she handed him a big box.  
"This is heavy, how did you get it here?"  
"I shipped it to John's house with Lindsey's help"  
"Sneaky" he pulled the paper off "Can we invent braille or super textured wrapping paper to make this more fun?"  
"Sure we can get right on that after you open it"  
"What are they?"  
"It's a planter for the kitchen window so you can grow fresh herbs, it should say herbs on the front in braille, tomorrow we can plant them and there are little signs with braille that we can stick in after we plant the seeds"  
"Oh I'm excited, thanks guys"  
"John do you have something for him?"  
"I do"  
"You do? You being here is more than enough"  
"This one is heavy too" Casey handed him the box  
"Geez" he felt around for the edge of the paper but found something on top  
"There is something small for Thor"  
"Of course there is" he tore the paper off  
“You never told me his birthday”  
“It’s February 23rd”  
“Mine is the 27th”  
“Your kidding? Why am I not shocked” He pulled out what felt like a patch “It feels like the name patch on your uniform but the letters stick out more" Chuck felt along the letters "Does it say, Thor?"  
"Yeah, it's for his vest, there is another one in there"  
"Oh this is badass, why did I never think to get him a Mjolnir patch. I've failed as his nerd dad"  
"I almost got a Nasa patch for Fuzz"  
"Ms. Newberry would have probably loved it"  
"What the hell is a Fuzz?"  
"Morgan you would love him. It's a giant orange cat that lives down the street and his name is Fuzz Aldrin. He has snuck into the house a few times, we have become friends" Chuck started unwrapping the bigger box "Is this going to just be a box of toys for Thor?"  
"Maybe"  
Chuck felt the edge of a book "You got the blind man some books? Do you wanna read to me?"  
"Just feel the cover”  
Chuck pulled out the three books feeling the cover of the first one  
"You're fucking lying" he felt the second and third one "Oh my god" he whispered to himself "Casey" he sat the books carefully on the table "Where are you?"  
"Across from you"  
Chuck stood up feeling his way over to where Casey was. "That's way too much, but thank you" he bent over to whisper in Casey's ear "I don't know what I did to deserve you" he moved his fingers across Casey's face putting a finger on his lips, keeping it there until his lips were close, moving it to give Casey a kiss. “Thank you” another kiss “Thank you” another kiss “Thank you”  
"You're welcome Chuck" he would never admit just how much he was blushing.  
"Can someone tell the sighted people what the books are?"  
"It's the Lord of the Rings trilogy"  
"Oh that's badass, good job dude"  
"Don't call me dude" Casey glared at Morgan.  
"So are you going to keep telling me you two are just friends"  
"It's scary that I know exactly what face you are making Ell and it's only been official for like twenty minutes so I would have told you eventually"  
"So when you were 'petting Thor'"  
"Did you just do air quotes? You are insane. I would never do that"  
“It was a joke Chuck, but I’m happy for you”  
“I'm so happy you all are here” He carefully sat on Casey’s lap. “Thank you”  
“So John, where did you fly in from?”  
“Sorry Ellie, I can’t tell you, I’m special ops”  
“How often do you leave?”  
“There is no set schedule, the last one I signed up months before I left but now that I’m back I’m thinking about either retiring or working on a promotion so I’d still work on base but less physical work and I’d only ship out in emergencies”  
“What would you do if you retire?”  
“I have no idea, the corps is all I’ve known, but I’d figure it out”  
“How long have you been a Marine?”  
“If I make it to March it will be twenty years”  
“How old are you?”  
“He is thirty-seven, not that is matters”  
“I was just asking Chuck”  
“I just realized I'm twenty-six now”  
“Do you want to blow out candles?”  
“No Ellie, you know I hate that, and we already ate the cupcakes”  
“It’s the one day a year we get to celebrate you, so get over it because we will never stop”  
“Whatever, I’m just glad I wasn't back in California having a party with all your nurse friends you were trying to set me up”  
“I thought you and Samantha really hit it off last year”  
“Just because we both play D&D doesn't make us soulmates, plus she has been with her boyfriend for like three years.”  
“Well you should have told me you were gay”  
“I’m not, well I might be, I don’t know, I just like people for who they are. It’s not like I can see them”  
“But have you at least felt that jawline”  
“You’re so weird Morgan, but yes I have” Chuck hit his blushing face in the crook of Casey’s neck.

"So are you staying?"  
"I am"  
"Good, but I have to sleep on the side closest to the door"  
“You mean the side with the bear?”  
“Oh um yes, that's weird isn't it”  
“No”  
Chuck grabbed the bear and moved it to the nightstand  
"I'm fucking exhausted. I once spent a week living in the walls of a mansion, trust me, I can sleep anywhere at any time, so the side of the bed doesn’t matter”  
“What”  
“That’s all I can say”  
"Damn, do you want to go get your pajamas?"  
"I'm just gonna sleep in my briefs if that's fine"  
"It is, you could sleep naked and I wouldn't know"  
"Guess not, just make sure your clothes are not on the floor”  
“I folded them and put them in the chair and slid my shoes under it”  
“Thank you”  
"You can cuddle up next to me, or I can spoon you but the second my head hits the pillow I'm out"  
"I just want to lay next to you" Chuck stripped down to his boxers before he laid down on his side of the bed, feeling Casey lay down next to him.  
"I'm going to lean over and kiss you" Casey gave him a quick kiss on the lips then one on the forehead, and as he said, fell asleep right as his head hit the pillow.  
“Goodnight Casey” Chuck laced their fingers together and quickly fell asleep

"Fuck" Chuck yelled out "Thor come help me" nothing "Thor get your furry little butt in here seriously" Chuck felt around to see if he could tell where he was and ended up knocking a vase off the table that was along the wall in the hallway. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” he yelled.  
"Chuck are you okay?" He could hear Ellie coming down the stairs.  
"Does it look like I'm okay Ellie?"  
"Thor" Chuck yelled again, finally hearing his tags jingle "Hey remember me? The one you are supposed to be helping, not snoozing away with Casey"  
“Thor sit Chuck there is glass, he can’t get to you, let me get the broom first”  
"Are you okay?" Casey asked  
"No I'm not, someone left something on the floor and I thought I could get up and pee without using my cane and instead I'm on the floor disoriented and my dog wouldn't come help me and now I've embarrassed myself by peeing my pants and my sister and boyfriend seeing it"  
"It's okay Chuck"  
"Everyone just got back to sleep, Thor can you get me to the bathroom?"  
"I'm sweeping the glass up now Chuck"  
"I got it, Ellie"  
"It was one of Morgan's shoes, I’ll take care of it, let Casey or Thor help you to the bathroom, don’t worry about it”  
"Fine, get me to the bathroom Thor” he grabbed his collar and hoped no one saw him crying

“Chuck, I brought you clean boxers, you have been in here awhile”  
"I'm almost done"  
"I'm sorry about Thor"  
"It's not your fault, I'll just have to work on his training a bit more now that you're back"  
"Don't be embarrassed okay"  
"I'm allowed to be embarrassed, also are you looking at me naked?"  
"I have my back to you, I swear. I would not do that without your permission"  
"I knocked all my bottles over, that’s why I’ve been in here so long, I could smell them but I’m just defeated right now"  
"Can I help?"  
Chuck thought for a moment "Can you get in with me?"  
"Like two seconds ago you didn't want me to see you naked"  
"Well now I want you to help me wash my hair while I have a good cry"  
Casey stepped into the shower with him "I don't want to see you cry"  
"I'm overwhelmed with a lot of emotion happy and embarrassed and angry"  
"Why are you angry?"  
"It's weird having people here and it's throwing everything off, I have a routine, I have everything in an exact place and my house was just full of people and stuff was moved, even by an inch it can throw everything off. Like where the fuck did a flower vase come from? I hate having glass things. And I don't blame you but I think Thor is overwhelmed too and reading off my bad mood"  
"I don't think you should open the fridge"  
"I did early and almost had a panic attack so I walked away”  
"We can fix it tomorrow"  
"You're too nice to me, especially everything you did for my birthday, you are here, the lights, the patches for Thor, the books which I know can be like two hundred dollars a piece, that's way too much to spend on me"  
"It's only because I think you have a nice ass"  
Chuck laughed "I bet yours is nice too"  
"So what's the order and location these are supposed to be in?"  
"Left to right Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash"  
"How do you shave your face?"  
"Very carefully. Did that just occur to you?"  
"Yes"  
“I tried to shave my balls once, then realized it was a bad idea, and once when I was trimming I cut myself and had to tell my sister because it wouldn't stop bleeding, two stitches, I have a scar. Talk about embarrassing”  
“I didn't mean to laugh, but it’s funny”  
"Honestly have you checked out my body"  
“Every time I see you, just not now, my eyes haven't left the bottles or your face.”  
"Was this a bad idea?"  
"Do you want to wash yourself then come back to bed and I'll hold you while you cry”  
"I want you to kiss me, with tongue"  
"It's cute when you blush"  
“Did Major John Casey just say the word cute?”  
“Shut up”  
"Those few kisses we have had were nice, but I want a we have been waiting to see each other for five months kiss"  
"Technically you have never seen me"  
"Asshole" he barely got out before Casey's lips were on his, he quickly opened his mouth to let Casey's tongue in.  
Chuck ran his hands down Casey’s back using both hands to squeeze his ass “I was right” he said quickly so he could get his lips back on Casey's. He moaned as their wet bodies pressed together.  
"Oh no, no, no, no" Chuck turned his back to Casey quickly gripping the base of his cock.  
"What's wrong?" Casey rubbed his back.  
"I'm sorry" Chuck took a deep breath, "I think you should get out"  
"Okay, I can do that, but I'm going to wait outside the door to make sure you get back to bed safe"  
"Fine"  
Chuck quickly washed his hair and body ignoring his aching hard-on "I hate you, go away"

"Guide dog Casey, lead the way"  
"If you don't want help then say so"  
"Just help me to bed please"  
"Looks like Ellie cleaned up the glass and put the flowers in a plastic cup"  
"Good to know”  
"Haven't you and Morgan been friends for a long time?"  
"Yeah since we were nine, he should have known better. I'm sure Ellie woke him up and yelled at him.”  
“I thought about it, but I don’t know him and I don’t need Ellie hating me”  
“She doesn’t hate you, she is just very protective”  
“Obviously”  
“And now I know not to drink beer before bed because well you know major embarrassment”  
"I can leave if you want"  
"No I don't want that, I still want to lay next to you, and maybe ask you about some of the scars on your back"  
"There are some on my chest and legs too"  
"Show me?"  
"I'm going to lay on my stomach if you want you can sit on my thighs or ass"  
"Are you just trying to get a back massage?"  
"I mean you are already there"  
“Thor go lay on the couch, you have lost cuddle privileges” Chuck pointing towards the door listening for his collar jingle before he shut it.

Chuck slowly moved so he was sitting on Casey's ass with his knees on the bed, hoping Casey hadn't seen or felt how hard he still was.  
"On my right hip is a long scar, that was from a giant splinter, a wooden shed blew up and a piece of wood got me"  
"Do you wear a bulletproof vest?"  
"Sometimes, this was right at the edge of it. Move up a bit then towards the middle, that is a stab wound, I was in a prison in another country, got shanked, barely missed my spine"  
"You were in prison?"  
"Just for being American, nothing bad. Left shoulder was a gunshot, went right through, front to back, had to get screws and a plate in my collarbone and shoulder blade, if it was my right I would have had to retire"  
Chuck leaned forward to feel for it, clearing his throat to stifle a moan when his dick rubbed between Casey's cheeks. "So um which one hurt the most?"  
"Broken ribs are the worst, hurts to breathe, move, coughing feels like your dying"  
"I've had a cracked rib"  
"What happened?"  
"Middle school bullies"  
"Are you shitting me?"  
"No, I got beat up all the time when I went to regular school, blind kids are an easy target"  
"I'm sorry"  
"Can you turn your head and look at me"  
"I am looking at you"  
Chuck felt Casey's face, "Is it weird that I have to touch your face?"  
"No"  
"Don't lie" Chuck kissed along his jaw, mindlessly rutting against Casey’s ass.  
"Normally yes it would bother me, but I'm okay with you touching me"  
"Because I'm blind?" He felt Casey shiver as he kissed behind his ear  
"Because I like you, and I don't normally like people"  
Chuck kissed his way to Casey’s lips, the angle was weird but he didn’t care.  
"Chuck" Casey growled,  
Chuck's entire body shook as he came."Oh shit, I'm so sorry, I, that was not okay, oh my god I'm so sorry"  
Thankfully Casey rolled over and caught him before he fell off the bed "Where do you think you are going" he pulled Chuck on top of him.  
"I just humped you like I was a dog"  
"The only thing you should be sorry about is trying to run away before I was done"  
"Really?" He felt Casey grab his hand  
"Really" he put Chuck's hand on the bulge in his briefs  
Chuck outlined it with his fingers. "Impressive"  
"I'm close Chuck, please" he grabbed Chuck's hips pulling him forward. He moved Chuck’s hips back and forth quickly. "Kiss me, Chuck"

"We should talk about what just happened"  
"Which part? Kicking me out of the shower because you got hard or the dry humping or when you said you wanted to stay the night but not sex stuff"  
"All of it"  
"I enjoyed it"  
"I usually don't do stuff like that. I um, the thing is, in college, I had this roommate Bryce and I was kinda dating this girl Jill but we never did anything but kiss then one day I walked in on Jill and Bryce having sex. So then Bryce apologized, convinced me he didn't know me and Jill were a thing and then the frat house got together to try and find me someone to lose my virginity too and it was a big prank. I don't want to go into details but I am still basically a virgin and I never um touch myself either”  
"They pranked you?"  
"Maybe one day I'll tell you about it, but I've had a panic attack the few times I've almost had sex or tried to jack off so when we were in the shower I almost got off and had to stop myself. But then it wouldn't go away and your ass is very nice and it kind of just happened then I felt really guilty that I didn't ask for your permission"  
"It's okay Chuck, I really liked it, if I didn’t I would have stopped you”  
“But even if you didn’t sometimes you can freeze in fear and not speak up”  
“I give you full consent, but if you don't want to do anything else until you are more comfortable I'm fine with that"  
“I’m not comfortable with giving you full consent, so before anything else happens I’d like to talk about it first”  
“Of course”  
“I take it your not a virgin?"  
"I've never had sex with a man, but I've been with a few women"  
"Well at least one of us kinda knows something"  
"Let me go get a rag and clean us up, trust me you won't like it when you have to peel your boxers off if we wait"  
"Okay, I'll just wait here" when Chuck heard the door open he slid his boxers off using them to clean himself a bit before folding them up and setting them on the floor close to his nightstand so he wouldn't trip over them later.  
"It's me, and you're naked"  
"Is it weird? Should I have left then on?"  
"No, I just showered with you"  
"Oh right"  
"Is it okay if I clean you up?"  
"At the moment, yes. I just came for the first time in two years, I’m sure it’s a mess. And I can tell how much I’m blushing” He covered his face with a pillow  
"I'll grab you another pair of clean boxer, do you think you have anything that will fit me?"  
"My dirty ones are folded on the floor if you could please put those in the hamper, um check the bottom drawer I have Stanford shorts and sweatpants that are all drawstring"  
"How do you know what you're wearing?"  
"All my work clothes and ties have braille tags, some I can tell by feel because I've had them so long and I usually just do jeans so it doesn't matter what color my shirt is. And yes Ellie buys all my clothes and has spent a very long time telling me what to wear together. As for socks I only buy black and the color of my boxers and sweatpants don’t matter”  
"I found a pair of shorts that kind of fit"  
Chuck reached over to touch them "Those are nice ones"  
"Here" Casey moved his hand up to his chest  
"That's a big scar"  
"I got slashed by a sword"  
"No way, were you fighting a pirate"  
"Yes on a pirate ship and everything"  
"I know that's a lie, but I'm going to act like it's the truth" Chuck followed the line across Casey's chest "You almost lost your nipple" Chuck circled it.  
“That would have been tragic” Casey laughed. "We should probably get some sleep, it's 0400"  
"Oh shit, sorry"  
"You apologize too much"  
"Do you work tomorrow?"  
"No, I have two weeks off"  
"I work tomorrow, wonder if Lindsey can handle it if I call in"  
"Send her a quick text"  
"Alfred, send text to Lindsey Northman"  
"New message to Lindsey Northman"  
"Hey I won't be in today period I fell but don't worry I'm okay just haven't been able to sleep period call me if you need anything sorry, Alfred send message"  
"Message sent"  
“Does anything hurt from the fall?”  
“Just my ego, can I spoon you?”  
“Sure” he rolled over so his back was to Chuck "Goodnight Chuck"  
"Goodnight Case" Chuck silently laughed to himself at the memory as he wrapped his arm around Casey.

It was the last night Chuck's family was in town so he was in the kitchen making sides for dinner while Devon and Casey were outside grilling, they had brought Casey's grill over to Chuck's backyard.  
Chuck grabbed a few cans out of the pantry that was supposed to be green beans but when he opened them he quickly realized they were pineapple.  
"You're kidding me" Chuck headed towards the backdoor and of course he tripped over something and dropped the can and hit his shoulder on the doorframe. "I'm fucking done"  
"Are you okay?  
"No Ellie I'm not. Is everyone out here?"  
"Yes we are"  
"I want you all to listen very carefully, well not you Casey. I have known you all forever. I've lived with all three of you, and yet you think it's okay to come into my house and rearrange my entire kitchen, you leave shit all over the floor, my body is a giant bruise because I've tripped so many goddamn times. I just opened pineapple that was supposed to be green beans and just tripped and flung them everywhere and practically dislocated my shoulder running into the door. Where did they even come from? How is it that Casey seems to be the only one who knows how to respect a blind person's house. I'm glad you are all here and I love you guys, but if you ever come back you will be staying in a hotel. I'm going to go sit on the front porch if I can make it there without harm and I'm going to put my headphones in and read my new book. I don't want a single one of you coming out there to bother me unless it's to tell me dinner is done. Someone else can clean up the pineapple and cook. I'm done"  
Chuck decided to walk through the backyard to get to the porch to lessen his chance of injury. 

He jumped when someone tapped his shoulder. He took an earbud out "Alfred pause music"  
"It's me"  
"Hello me"  
"Casey"  
"I know, I'm messing with you, I’d recognize that sexy voice anywhere"  
“How are the books?”  
“So good, I am very grateful for them, thank you again”  
"Dinner is ready"  
"You're not going to ask if I'm okay?"  
"I know you're not"  
Chuck stood out reaching for his boyfriend "Kiss me then hold me for a minute then we can go eat"  
Casey gave him a quick kiss, then wrapped his arms around him.  
Chuck lightly kissed his neck. “Thank you for being so good to me”  
"I'd invite you to stay at my house tonight but that would probably be worse"  
Chuck sighed "It would be, but eventually I’d like to go over there”  
"Tomorrow when you get home from work I'll come over and help you get the kitchen back together and make sure every room gets put back to the way you want"  
"Okay, we can do that and then order dinner from that amazing Thai place we ordered from before you left and watch a movie"  
"Sounds like a date" he kissed Chuck's temple.  
“I’m glad you smell like you again”  
“What do I smell like?”  
“Cedar and apples and something that is just you, It’s comforting”  
“Sure you don’t want to sneak over to my place and make out on the couch or something. I’ll even carry you so you don’t trip”  
“AS amazing as that sounds. I do love my family and since I’m not sure when I’ll be with them again, I’d like to have dinner with them. But please carry me to the back patio”  
“Deal”  
Chuck managed to get on Casey’s back without injury and Casey carried him around the side of the house to the backyard.  
Casey carefully let Chuck down “There you go your highness”  
“That was probably way sexier than it should have been, you are so strong” Chuck squeezed his bicep.  
Casey laughed.  
“Everyone heard me didn't they?”  
“We sure did buddy” Morgan laughed.

“Hello? Please tell me this isn't another surprise”  
“Just me”  
Chuck jumped “Will there ever be a day you don’t scare the crap out of me?”  
“Probably not”  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Sarah and I have been here for about an hour, cleaning up and labeling all the food I bought, we have not moved any furniture but we did dust and vacuum”  
“You two are amazing, I feel like I need to cook for you two”  
“Already ordered the Thai to be delivered around six-thirty, and Sarah left when Lindsey’s car pulled in” Casey gave him a quick kiss “Go change and meet me in the kitchen”  
“Thor be free” he took off Thor’s vest and harness and hung them up on the hook Casey made him before he shipped out.  
“So I got an interesting email today” Chuck walked into the kitchen after changing  
“Oh yeah, what was it?  
Chuck ran his finger over the screen of his phone, letting Alfred read the email out loud

‘The almost birthday boy,  
By the time you get this, I will hopefully be home for your birthday and have already covered you in kisses. I miss you so much, you have no idea how much seeing your smiling face in the pictures you have sent help me get through the day. Thank you for being you, Chuck.  
-The sappy Marine  
P.s. don’t tell anyone’

“I think you should delete that”  
“No way, I’m going to save it listen to it as much as possible. But I do have one problem with it?”  
“What?”  
“You have practically been living with me for five days and I have yet to be covered in kisses”  
“Are you sure about that?” Chuck shivered when Casey whispered in his ear. “I...distinctly... remember...kissing...you...in...all...of...these...places” he placed kisses on Chuck’s face, neck and shoulders between every word.  
“Oh right, thanks for refreshing my memory”  
“How was work today?”  
“As good as it could be dealing with twenty third graders”  
“How do they deal with Thor?”  
“The first few weeks were horrible but we are now almost two months in and they are doing well and I let him off harness during quit times and test time and he can sense when a kid is struggling and he will walk over and calm them down”  
“Who's a good boy” Casey grabbed a treat out of the jar on the counter giving it to Thor. “Such a good boy, yes you are” he bent down to rub Thor’s belly  
Chuck busted out laughing  
“What the hell is wrong with you Bartowski?”  
“You just baby talked my dog, Mr macho marine is baby talking a dog, I can't”  
“Shut up”  
“Alfred time”  
“Current time is seventeen twenty-one”  
“So we have about an hour until food gets here, so we could either go room by room and make sure the house is in order, or we could sit on the couch and make out”  
“Damn, how will I ever choose between those two things, and no I’m not carrying you again”  
“So rude” Chuck smirked.  
“I’m not wearing that”  
“Why not?”  
“I’m an adult”  
“That is not a valid argument”  
“You won’t be able to see it, why does it matter?”  
“Yeah you’re right” Chuck sighed  
“Chuck, I didn’t mean”  
“Yeah you did, don’t worry about it, I should have asked before I bought it, I just thought you would want to have fun with me and Thor. I’ll return it, it’s no big deal”  
“No, you’re right, I’m sorry”  
“If you don’t want to it’s fine, I’m not going to make you”  
“Did you choose Captain America because I’m a Marine or because you want to feel my ass in these tight pants?”  
“A mixture of both, plus I couldn't think of another Marvel character you could be with muscles like that, except Thor, but obviously you can’t be Thor when Thor is Thor”  
“Isn’t Loki the bad guy though?”  
“He is the god of mischief, but he is also Thor’s brother so it works”  
“I’ll wear it, and I will go to the school with you to pass out candy”  
“You really don’t have to”  
“I know, but I see how happy you are about it, so I’m going to do it”  
“I think once you see how happy the kids are, you will be begging to do it next year”  
“I’m going to try it on”  
“Then we need to test Thor's, I ordered his online since his old one was worn out, but it's really hard sometimes for me to online shop"  
“You’ll have to show me sometime, I’m curious”  
“We can order pizza for dinner, I have a coupon in my email that can only be used online”  
“Pizza sounds good” Casey adjusted himself “I’m going to need to wear a cup in this thing or people will be able to see everything”  
“Do I need to get it in a bigger size?”  
“I don’t think so, it fits pretty well, just shows off my package”  
“Can I feel?” Chuck realized what he said “I didn’t mean your um package as you put it, I meant like your chest and arms”  
Casey was laughing “You can feel whatever you want Chuck”  
“Do you have any of the accessories on?”  
“No, where did you even get this? It’s nice and very detailed”  
“Morgan has a cousin that makes and sells cosplay stuff and I had Sarah help me with the sizing from one of your uniforms since they fit so nicely”  
“This shield is metal”  
“And it should stick to your back if you wear the harness”  
“I’m within reach”  
Chuck reached both hands forward feeling the star first then running his hands up to his shoulders and down his arms “Turn to the side” Chuck blushed as he ran a hand down Casey’s back and over his ass “I was right”  
“Shut up”  
“Have you seen Endgame? There is a scene specifically about how amazing Cap’s ass is”  
“I have not”  
“We need to change that asap”  
“Move your hand around to the front, if you are comfortable with that and tell me what you think?”  
“Well we have already established I find it impressive”  
“I meant if I should wear a cup or not”  
“Right” They have only been kissing and a tiny bit of dry humping since Chuck’s birthday last month. Chuck wanted more but was still too scared.  
“You don’t have to”  
“No, it’s fine, I can do this, for science”  
“For America”  
“Oh my god,” Chuck laughed, “Maybe guide my hand so I don’t accidentally hit you there” or so I don’t chicken out.  
Casey grabbed his hand cupping it over his bulge “Oh, um yeah, that’s wow, yeah you can’t go out in public like that”  
“You should probably stop rubbing it before I get come in this very expensive costume”  
“Yeah, sorry”  
“It’s okay Chuck”  
“I shouldn't have done that”  
"But I like it when you touch me"  
"Guess it's a good thing I'm blind and have to touch you, but then again if I wasn't blind our sex life would probably be amazing"  
"It's fine Chuck"  
"You always say that"  
"Because it's true"  
"Do you touch yourself?"  
"Sometimes, but I can live without getting off"  
"What do you think about, if you don't mind me asking"  
"Well the last few times it's been you"  
"Really?"  
"Yes Bartowski"  
"But we haven't done anything"  
"Guess I have an active imagination"  
"Maybe sometime I could help"  
"If you want"  
"I'll let you know"  
"So do you own a suit?"  
"No” He heard Casey moving around "Nice subject change"  
"We can keep talking about it if you want?"  
"No, so why do you need to know if I own a suit? Is it a kink thing?"  
Casey laughed "I'm going to put a piece of paper in your hand" then take this costume off"  
Chuck felt the embossed card "Ooo fancy, I can't read it though"  
"I'm aware, but it feels nice and I know how you are about textures"  
"Is it for a wedding?"  
"A ball, the Marine Corps Ball"  
"Are you asking me to be your date?"  
"No I'm taking my other boyfriend and I was hoping he could borrow a suit from you"  
"Are you allowed to bring me?"  
"Yes, they allow blind people, Thor can come too"  
"Oh my god imagine him in a tie”  
“We can get him one”  
“But I meant me as in a guy"  
"It's fine Chuck, there are plenty of same-sex couples. No one cares"  
"When is it?"  
"November tenth, it's at a fancy hotel a few hours away, we will have a room there  
"Can you take me suit shopping? Do you have a suit?"  
"I will be wearing my dress blues"  
"What is that?"  
"It's a uniform we wear for fancy events, there is a white hat, blue pants, and shirt, and it's covered in all these metals, I'll explain more when I have it on and you can feel everything"  
"I can't wait, sounds fancy"  
“I’ll see if I can take this Saturday or Sunday off to take you shopping”  
“Do I wear blue too?”  
“I think you have to wear navy or black, I’ll have to check the dress code, I’ve never taken a date before”  
“I’m honored”  
“Let’s see if we can order some pizza and maybe watch Endgame, and then see if we can find Thor a tie”  
“Sounds like a plan”

“That really fucking pisses me off”  
“Well, the only thing you can really do is send an angry email that will probably only get an automated response. But it’s not the employee's fault, so we can’t get mad at them”  
“What if I wasn't here to help you?”  
“I would have probably called and told them I’m blind and their website and app are not accessible and I would like to use the coupon and if they wouldn't let me I’d probably hang up and order from somewhere else”  
“I’m sorry you have to deal with that”  
“I’m used to it, I just remind myself that I’m lucky with a lot of the advancements in technology over the last few years”  
“True”  
“The people I work with for my app are working on making an overlay type thing to work on apps that aren't accessible, but it taking time because of how people format their websites”  
“Sounds like nerd talk”  
“It is” he laughed. “Let’s go sit in the front porch, and you can start reading that book to me”  
“Are you sure, it’s kind of gory”  
“Well it’s Stephan King, I know what to expect, and I want to know what your favorite book is, and thanks to audible’s messed up editing I can’t listen to it, but I’d rather hear you read it anyways”  
“After we finish this, you are reading Lord of the Rings to me”  
“Deal, what’s it called again?”  
“The Long Walk technically written under Stephen King’s alter ego Richard Backman”

"Chuck?" There was a knock at the door  
"Don't open it" but it was too late "Close your eyes oh my god please" the door shut quickly  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, hold on please, I'm slightly lost"  
"How are you lost?"  
"Do you really need to ask that?"  
"Can I help?"  
"Absolutely not, why are you even here? I didn't mean that to sound so rude"  
"They sent some of us home early and I thought we could go out for a late lunch and see if your suit is ready to be picked up"  
"You should have called"  
"I did, your phone and dog are in the living room"  
Chuck opened the door  
"You don't look okay, wanna talk about it?"  
"No"  
"Your shirt is inside out"  
"Oh my god I was trying to jack off, there are you happy"  
"Oh"  
"I thought since next weekend we were staying in a fancy hotel we would be having sex because that's whats people do in hotel rooms and"  
"Stop right there. The only reason we are staying in a hotel is that it's far away, there will be drinking, and they rented the entire place out for us to get rooms so no one has to drive home"  
"So no sex?"  
"There can be, but there doesn't have to be"  
Chuck reached out for Casey "You’re in uniform”  
“Yeah, I usually change before I come over but since you didn’t answer your phone I was worried”  
Chuck felt along Casey’s chest “I bet you look really hot, I hear people like a man in uniform” He moved his hands to Casey’s shoulders than down his arms “Holy shit, you're about to bust out of these sleeves. God, you are so hot”  
“Thanks”  
“Can we try something?”  
“Sure”  
“Will, you ever say no to me?” Chuck started to unbutton Casey’s shirt  
“When you ask something I want to say no to”  
“What is under this?”  
“Just a white undershirt”  
“Why is everything so tight”  
“So it doesn't get caught on stuff”  
“That makes sense” He pulled Casey’s uniform top off “Again, I’m no expert at this stuff, but we can’t just throw clothes around when undressing each other” Chuck walked over and sat Casey’s shirt on the chair in the corner. “So it may ruin the sexiness of it”  
“Or” Casey ran his hands up Chuck’s back under his shirt “We could throw them on the ground and I can pick them up later” he pulled Chuck’s shirt over his head dropping it the chair. “Tell me what you want to do”  
“Take your pants off, leave your briefs on”  
“I'm wearing a jockstrap”  
“I’m sorry what?”  
“I wear them on the weekends because I run the training course and do more strenuous workouts and I prefer them when I’m working out, keeps everything in place. But today was just paperwork” Casey added his pants to the growing pile of clothes.  
“Can I feel?”  
“I’d like that very much” Casey growled in his ear.  
Chuck slowly ran his fingers down Casey’s back until he got to the elastic strap. Deepening their kiss before his hands moved down to Casey’s bare ass.  
“God” Chuck moaned, following the elastic that so nicely cups Casey’s ass “Being blind sucks sometimes” he started kissing along Casey’s neck  
Casey laughed, he hands not moving from Chuck’s hips. “Just don’t leave a mark that’s visible when I’m in uniform”  
Chuck kissed down to his collarbone sucking a nice mark there as his fingers moved up Casey’s abs lightly squeezing one of his nipples making Casey hiss.  
After he had left a few marks on Casey he stepped back “I don’t want you to touch me, wait I do, I just mean right now” Chuck nervously bit his lip “I just think that I need to get comfortable with touching myself before I let you”  
“What do you need me to do?”  
“I’m going to take my boxers off and lay on the bed on my side, maybe spoon me? I don’t know, I feel stupid”  
“Stop it, it’s just us, we can do whatever we want with zero judgment”  
Chuck pulled the bottle of lube out of the nightstand before he laid down on his side, Casey waited until he was settled before laying down behind him.  
“I just bought this, thank god for online shopping”  
How about you do what you want and I’ll just do what you tell me”  
“I tried to watch porn, to get some ideas, but there was very few guy on guy videos with descriptions and hearing someone explain to me in too much detail what was happening made me uncomfortable”  
Casey laughed “Another thing I’ve never thought about, but I don’t really watch porn”  
“What do you do?”  
“If I do it, I usually just do it quickly in the shower”  
“I tried that earlier, but I was too scared I’d fall or something” Chuck poured a small amount of the lube in his right hand making sure the bottle was shut before laying it on the bed against his stomach.  
“I’m going to put my hand on your stomach if that's okay?”  
“Okay,” Chuck took a deep breath wrapping his lubed hand around the base of his cock.  
“You’re doing good Chuck” Casey lightly rubbed up and down Chuck’s chest. Chuck moved his hand up and down his shaft in tune with Casey’s hand.  
Chuck pushed back his hips to feel Casey’s bulge  
“Chuck” he peppered kisses along his shoulder.  
“I think you should be naked too”  
“Are you sure?”  
“God yes”  
Casey rolled over to his back, quickly stripping himself of his jock and throwing it across the room to the chair.  
Chuck took a few deep breaths trying to keep calm as he felt Casey’s body press back against his. He could feel himself starting to get soft.  
“It's okay, breath Chuck”  
Chuck reached back with his left hand feeling for Casey’s hand “Where is your hand?”  
“Right here” he put his hand in Chuck’s  
“I want to try something I read about online” he put the bottle of lube in Casey’s hand, “It said if you aren't ready to have sex you can put some lube between your thighs and um you can you know"  
“If you’re okay with that, we can try it”  
“I’m not hard anymore, but I want to, I just want to try something, I want us to both get off, I’m tired of coming in my pants, I want to have sex with you eventually, but just dry humping is never going to get us to that point”  
“Tell me if you want me to stop at any time” Casey put a generous amount of lube on his cock wiping the rest between Chuck’s thighs. “Ready?”  
“Yeah”  
Casey slowly pushed between Chuck’s thighs.  
Chuck moaned as he felt the wet head of Casey’s cock hit the back of his balls. “Touch me, please Casey”  
Casey moved his hand down Chuck’s hip slowly, giving Chuck time to change his mind, when he didn’t, he wrapped his hand around the base feeling it plump back up in his hand. “Fuck Bartwsoki”  
“Oh my god John, it feels so good, I’m so close already”  
Casey rubbed his thumb overhead of Chuck’s slit a few times collecting the constant stream of precome. “So good Chuck, you're doing so good”  
"I like how your hand feels on me" Chuck moan as Casey's hand moved quicker. "Yes John"  
Chuck’s body tensed up, tightening his thighs together as they both came, Chuck quickly rolled over trying to eagerly kiss Casey but ended up slapping him in the face “Oh shit, I’m so sorry”  
Casey grabbed his face pressing their lips together. Chuck laid half on top of him as they lazily kissed for a while.  
“How was that?”  
“Mindblowing”  
“It’s probably a good thing you can’t see”  
“Wait why”  
“You shot like a gallon of come all over the bed and floor, there may even be some on the door”  
“That's embarrassing"  
"I thought it was hot"  
"Ten out of ten would do again" Chuck laughed  
"We should shower, then you should make us some food while I clean this up”  
“Thank you John” Chuck kissed his cheek  
“Thank you for trusting me”

“You made lasagna and cupcakes?”  
“I’m in a good mood”  
“I need to make you come more if this is what I get”  
“I think we should both get tested if that's okay?"  
"That's more than okay, but I’ve already been tested, we get very thorough exams before and after we ship out, and I’ve not been with anyone else, But I can get retested if you want"  
“I trust you, would it be okay if you took me to the doctor? I don't want to ask Lindsey”  
“Of course”  
"I did get tested my junior year at Stanford, and I haven't done anything since, but I want to get tested again just in case"  
"I'll make us an appointment"  
"When we do finally have sex, who will be doing what?"  
"Since neither of us has experience I assumed we would try it both ways and see which we like better"  
"That makes sense, but after what we just did, I think I’d like you to be top first”  
“I’m fine with that”  
“You are to perfect”  
“Not even close”

“So how fancy is this place?”  
“There are chandeliers everywhere, everything is crisp white with navy blue accents, the chairs are gold-painted metal, and there are flowers on every table but don’t ask me what they are. They are red white and blue and there is an American flag and Marine’s flag hanging on a pole up on a stage with a podium”  
“Do I look okay?”  
“You look amazing Chuck”  
“How about Thor?”  
“Don’t tell anyone else here, but he is the best looking one in the place”  
“Is the food fancy?”  
“Probably”  
“Please don’t let me look ridiculous while I eat”  
“It’s okay, there will be some talking while we eat, then it’s kind of a free for all with drinks and dancing, but if at any time you get overwhelmed and want to go up to the room we can”  
“I can’t dance”  
“I can’ teach you how to tango”  
“Is that a sex joke?”  
“It can be, but I meant the dance”  
“I’ll probably have a glass of wine, but I don’t like being drunk”  
“I’ll probably have a scotch or two, but I don’t plan on getting drunk”  
“You can, I have Thor, I’ll be fine”  
“I don’t drink to get drunk, I like a small buzz from a good scotch”  
“I hope Thor will be okay”  
“After we eat we can go outside and take a walk, give him some air and off harness time”  
“Good idea, I did put his collapsible bowls in his vest pocket with a small bit of food and a bottle of water in case we are here awhile we won't have to wait until we get to our room for dinner”  
“Let’s go find our table and try to avoid as many conversations as possible”  
“Thor follow Casey please”

“I’m going to pull the chair out for you, the space to your left is for Thor, they didn’t put a chair there, and there is even a name placard for him”  
“Can you take a picture and send it to Ellie?”  
“Yeah, and before the night is over I’ll get a picture of the three of us to send her”  
“Thor lay down, break time” Chuck released the harness and rubbed his head “Good boy”  
“Here, feel” Casey put a piece of paper in his hands  
“This says my name”  
“Both of your name things are in braille and the menu is also in braille”  
“You’re shitting me?” Chuck realized what he said “Oh sorry”  
“You’re allowed to cuss Chuck”  
“Is anyone else at the table?”  
“Not yet”  
“So you told them I was blind and they did this?”  
“I told them I have a plus one who has a service dog that will also be attending because he is blind and didn’t want to accidentally wack someone with his cane”  
“Casey,” someone said really close to Chuck making him jump “Looks like we are sharing a table”  
“Oh look at that cute dog,” a female voice said  
“Please ignore him, he is working,” Chuck said shyly.  
“Oh sorry, his I’m Erica”  
“Hi I’m Chuck” he looked in the direction of her voice  
“She is holding out her hand” Casey whispered in his ear  
“Well, I can’t see it” Chuck whispered back. “This is going to happen all night long isn't it?”  
“Yeah”  
“Um sorry, I’m actually blind, not being rude, I just can’t see your hand”  
“I’m so sorry sweety”  
“It’s okay”  
“Hi I’m James, I was on Casey’s team during the last deployment, and my wife Erica works on base with him”  
“Nice to meet you”  
“I’ve heard a lot about you”  
“You have?”  
“Yeah, everyone was wondering what made the biggest hardass in the Marines smile”  
“Oh that would be the dog” Chuck pointed to Thor “They are best friends”  
“He was practically writing I heart Chuck on the front of his notebooks”  
“Shut up Slattery”  
“So is it rude to ask how you lost your sight?”  
“Maybe for some people but I’m okay with it. It’s called retinitis pigmentosa, it's a rare genetic disorder, basically the loss of cells in my retina. It started with low visions and not being able to see in the dark, then I had tunnel vision for a few years then lost all of it when I was fourteen”  
“So that’s why your eyes look okay because it wasn't an injury?”  
“Yup, they shake, but most people don’t realize it unless I’m using my cane since service dogs can be for a variety of things”  
“Are your parents or siblings blind”  
“No, my sister is actually a doctor”  
“Erica leave him alone”  
“It’s okay James, was it? I don’t mind. But I would like to hear some stories about Casey”  
“There isn’t much to tell, mostly because we can’t but he is a badass and very about following rules, so there is nothing that comes to mind”  
“Why am I not shocked” Chuck squeezed Casey’s hand  
“How did you two meet?”  
“We are neighbors, I heard someone yelling so I walked over just in time to see a cat scare him and make him fall off the porch swing”  
“Swings and something rubbing on you when you are blind is a bad combination”  
“I didn’t know you were blind when I was laughing”  
“You laughed? Rude. Anyways, he helped me find the key I had dropped and he kept showing up to help and we became friends, then when he came home from his last deployment for my birthday we kissed and that was it”  
“The ol’ help the hot neighbor porn”  
Chuck could feel himself blush.  
“Time to order the food” Casey cut in

After they ordered their first course Chuck got out some food and water for Thor and took his harness off Erica could pet him, and of course Casey. After they were done eating, they took Thor on a short walk around the hotel and let him run around in a grassy patch and use the bathroom. Then they put Thor up in the hotel room, Casey promising to be his guide so he didn’t have to try and use his cane in a room full of people.  
They made it back just in time for the cake cutting and the moment of silence to remember all those they lost in the last year, and then some awards were given out as they ate the cake.  
“Now we dance”  
“I still think it’s a horrible idea”  
“Come on Bartowski, once dance” Casey pulled him out on the dance floor “Put your hands on my hips, keep your feet in one spot and just sway back and forth”  
Chuck did as he was told, pressing his body into Casey, resting his head on his shoulder “I can tell there are spotlights, I keep seeing random flashes of light”  
“If it isn’t Major John Casey”  
“Go away Shaw”  
“I just wanted to meet your son”  
“What? Do I look young enough to be your son?” Chuck stepped back from Casey  
“No, he is just an asshole”  
“I’m Chuck, his boyfriend”  
“Nice to meet you, I’m Major Daniel Shaw” he held his hand out “So Casey, can’t teach your boy toy how to respect a Marine”  
“Well since he is blind you have to tell him you want to shake his hand”  
“He doesn't look blind”  
“What does blind look like? Please educate the class” Chuck could hear a deep growl in Casey’s voice as he talked.  
“I guess it makes sense that the only guy you could get was one that couldn’t see your ugly mug”  
“I don’t need to see to be able to tell how ugly you are” Chuck heard a few people laugh “Now can you please leave us alone so we can enjoy our night”  
Casey put his hand on Chuck’s shoulder so he could easily find his way back into Casey’s arms “I don’t like that guy, why is he so mean? Please tell me he walked away”  
“He did, and that’s just who he is”  
“I’m surprised you haven't punched him”  
“Oh I have, a few times”  
Chuck laughed. “I really like dancing with you, but these metals are kinda poking me”  
“We could always go up to our room and dance in our pajamas”  
“I was thinking a shower then some naked activities”  
“Oh naked activities sound fun”  
“I have some things I’d like to try”  
“We are sharing a room with Thor”  
“And I plan on putting his bed we brought in the bathroom with plenty of treats and toys”  
“Look at you planning ahead Bartwoski”

“I hate hotels” Chuck huffed as he stood under the spray of water  
“That’s why I am in here with you”  
“I’m sure the only reason is because we are naked”  
“That’s just a bonus, so what are these ideas you have?”  
“I want to suck your dick”  
Casey choked on his own spit  
“Did I kill you?”  
“I wasn't expecting that”  
“Isn’t that the next step after handjobs, because we have done that a few times and I’m ready to move on, I want to taste you”  
Casey squeezed his erection “Don’t say shit like that” he growled  
“Oh sorry”  
“I didn't mean it like that, I just meant now I'm so hard I feel like I'm going to explode just thinking about it”  
“Well I’ve never done it, so don’t get too excited”  
“I’ve never done it”  
“I am not ready to let you do it”  
“Okay”  
“I don’t want to talk about it and ruin the mood”  
Casey grabbed his waist pulling their bodies together “Does it feel like you’re ruining anything?”  
“Yeah we should get out of here and get to the bed”

“Okay, I’m sitting on the chair”  
Chuck carefully made his way over, thankfully he spent their first hour here trying to memorize the layout and just how many steps everything was from each other. He stopped when he knew he was in front of Casey. He leaned forward holding on to the armrests, he could tell Casey covered the entire thing with towels, and he could feel a pillow also covered with a towel at his feet.  
Casey gripped the back of his neck as they kissed, Chuck slowly stroking Casey back to full hardness.  
Chuck got down on his knees between his boyfriends spread legs  
Running his hands up and down his thighs “I can’t get over how muscular you are” he closed his eyes taking a few deep breaths, trying to forget everything except Casey.  
He used his left hand to massage Casey’s balls as his left hand wrapped around his shaft. He leaned forward lightly touching his lips to the tip of his cock, keeping his lips there as he strokes him a few times before he opens his mouth and letting the tip slide into his mouth.  
Casey cupped his jaw with one hand, lightly running his thumb along his cheek “So good Chuck” he whispers.  
Chuck hollowed his cheeks as he tested how much of Casey he could take, using his hand to take care of the rest.  
He wasn't sure how long he had been doing this, but his jaw was starting to ache so he focused on just the tip because of the way it had Casey moaning. His lips tight at the ridge as he sucked and lapped his tongue over it.  
“Chuck” Casey moaned “about to come”  
Chuck swallowed a bit but it was too much so he just used his hand to stroke Casey through his orgasm.  
He stood up, bracing one arm on the armrest, he leaned over to kiss Casey as he quickly jacked himself off until he came on Casey’s lower stomach.  
“Fuck” Casey growled “that was amazing Chuck”  
Chuck collapsed into the chair with him “I think we need to shower again”  
“I’d like to try sometime”  
“I don’t know”  
“Can I ask why?”  
“Remember that thing I told you about, my frat house trying to get me to lose my virginity?”  
“Yeah, but if you aren’t ready to talk about it that’s fine”  
“They paid this guy to give me a blow job, they told me is a was girl, obviously I couldn’t tell because I only felt their mouth. Not that it matters what gender they were, but being lied to sucks. But um, I was enjoying it and was close to coming when I heard people laughing. Obviously, I thought we were alone. I quickly got up and tripped trying to get my pants on and I had no idea where I was and had a panic attack and basically laid on the floor crying while everyone continued to laugh”  
Casey held him closer “I’m so sorry Chuck”  
“I knew my phone was somewhere, so I was able to ask it to call Morgan, he lived off-campus so he was close by. He came and helped me and I tried reporting it but there was no proof, so I ended up moving in with Morgan and living on his couch to finish out my junior year, then we got a place together our senior year”  
“That Bryce guy better hope I never figure out his last name”  
“I’ve been too scared to do anything since”  
“You know I’ll never to that to you, I’d never trick you or lie to you about anything”  
“I know”  
“Have you thought about therapy?”  
“Yeah, but I’ve never been able to talk about it until now”  
Casey kissed Chuck’s forehead “I’m going to carry you to the bathroom so we can wash up and get some sleep”  
“Larkin”  
“What the hell is that?”  
“His last name, Bryce Larkin”  
Casey growled  
“Just don’t kill him”  
“Just plan on making his life a living hell”

“So how fast can you make a turkey?”  
“What kind of question is that?”  
“Sarah said she is coming here for Thanksgiving”  
“You realize that is tomorrow right?”  
“Should we just order a pizza?”  
“Absolutely not, you are going to take me to the store and hope we can find something to cook”  
“If we are doing Thanksgiving we have to have stuffing and green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole”  
“Are you going to help me cook?”  
“If I have a recipe I can do it”  
“I’m going to ask Lindsey if she wants to come over too, I’m not cooking all that for three people”  
“Think of the leftovers though”  
“Make a list, I’m going to change and get Thor ready”

“Whatever will we do while we wait for the half-hour the casseroles are in the over?” Chuck sat up on the island in his kitchen.  
“Clean up the disaster that used to be a kitchen”  
“Hmm, I don’t see a mess at all” Chuck smirked  
“You’re dog has flour on his head”  
“So you’re saying we should clean up instead of kissing?”  
“Some kissing, then cleaning, everyone will be here soon”  
“Good, they can help clean since we bought all the food and cooked it at the last minute”  
Casey positioned himself between Chuck’s legs “i’d suggest moving it to the couch, but we are both a mess too”  
“I did suggest an apron”  
“You suggested an apron and no clothes under it”  
“I thought it would be fun”  
“You can’t see”  
“But I could touch your butt”  
“You can touch it whenever you want”  
Chuck grabbed at Casey ass pulling him closer “Mmm” he hummed into a kiss.

“I think I lost my appetite”  
“Thor, remember the part where you are supposed to bark when someone walks into the house?” Casey looked over to Thor who was laying on the rug in front of the sink  
“Hi Sarah”  
“Hello Chuck”  
“How about you go clean up and change, Walker can help me clean up here and I’ll go check on the turkey over at my place and change”  
“Sounds good” Chuck grabbed his cane off the island before getting down. 

When Chuck was showered and changed into a nice brown sweater that he had to video call Ellie to get approval of, he headed into the kitchen.  
“Hello Chuck”  
“Hi Lindsey”  
“Everything looks and smells amazing”  
“I take it the kitchen isn’t a disaster zone anymore?”  
“No, we got it all cleaned and Casey organized it before heading over to change and get the turkey”  
“I’ve never made a turkey before, so I hope we did a good job. Ellie usually spends a week making test turkeys before she decided on the perfect one. I just used a recipe online”  
“This mac and cheese looks so good I may eat the entire pot”  
“My grandmother left this handwritten recipe book and Casey has been typing them up for me so I can have my phone read them so I used her recipes for most of this stuff”  
“That’s so sweet”  
“Don’t let him hear that”  
“Talking about me Bartowski”  
“Nope” He turned towards the entrance to the kitchen “How does the turkey look?”  
“Looks good, but it’s all about the taste. Everyone sit at the table, I’ll carve some of this”  
“I'll get the drinks” Sarah added  
“I got some red wine, the person at the liquor store said it was a good one to pair with Thanksgiving dinner, so I got two bottles. Wine glasses are in the cabinet next to the fridge”  
Chuck sat at the table, feeling around for where the plate and silverware was. “Please tell me it looks nice and festive?”  
“It looks lovely Chuck”  
“Ellie ordered it all and had it shipped here, me and Casey tried our best to make it look okay”  
“Well for a blind guy and a brute you did good”  
“Shut up Walker”  
“Who wants to fill my plate up for me?”  
“I’ll get it” Casey grabbed his plate “some of everything?”  
“Yes please, and I’d like once everyone got their food if we could go around and say what we are thankful for”  
“I like that idea” Lindsey added.  
“Here Chuck, closest to you is the mac and cheese then going to the right is the sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes no gravy and the turkey is in the middle. The rolls are in a basket in front of you if you want one. Wine is to the left, water is on the right”  
“I’m thankful for you and how you go above and beyond to help me without me even having to ask”  
“I’m thankful for you to Chuck” Casey leaned over and kissed his cheek.  
“Well aren't you two just so cute” Sarah smiled “I’m thankful for Chuck and how soft he has made Casey”  
“Shut up Sarah” Casey growled  
“I’m also thankful for Chuck, not only is he a great boss but he is a great friend with a big heart. Thank you for doing this Chuck”  
“You guys are so nice, I’m also thankful for you too, and I love cooking so I didn’t mind, it was the last minute shopping that I hated” Chuck heard something next to him “Casey are you giving Thor some of the turkey?”  
“Nope, now try the food”  
“I know you’re lying”  
“Turkey isn’t harmful to dogs, it’s probably better than the food you give him”  
“You know how expensive his food is? It’s very healthy for him”  
“Both of you shut up and eat”  
“But it’s cute when they fight like an old married couple” Lindsey and Sarah clinked their wine glasses together

“Oh my god I’m so full, please everyone take leftovers home”  
“We will divide it up tomorrow, Lindsey you can come back to the house with me if you want, leave the love birds alone”  
“There are three bedrooms upstairs, everyone can stay if they want, I can make pancakes for breakfast, Morgan sent me some maple syrup from his trip to Canada that i’ve been dying to try”  
“Let’s not talk about food” Lindsey groaned  
“I’m going to head over and get me and Lindsey some pajamas, I’ll be right back. Find a movie we can watch”  
Chuck groaned, “I’m going to let Thor out then put on something on that stretches”  
“Good idea”  
“You two better not be using that as an excuse to do naughty things”  
Chuck blushed “Absolutely not”  
A few minutes later they were all in comfy clothes in the living room watching Die Hard, they all were asleep before the movie ended. Chuck woke up early and made everyone bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes.

“Please Chuck, I want you so bad” Casey was kissing along Chuck’s hip  
“Yes Casey, god yes”  
Casey kissed along the underside of Chuck’s shaft  
Chuck eagerly felt as much of Casey’s face and hair as he could, reminding himself that it's Casey and he is safe but it didn’t work. Chuck squeezed his eyes shut, a tear falling down his cheek. "Please stop"  
"What's wrong?" Casey used his thumb to wipe the tears away.  
"I can't"  
"Okay, we can watch a movie or read or anything else you want"  
"Why are with me?"  
"What a stupid question"  
"Wow thanks"  
"We have known each other for nine months and you want to ask me that?"  
"This can't be easy for you, and I suck at this sex thing"  
"How many times do I have to tell you the sex doesn't matter"  
"I think we should spend some time apart"  
"Chuck"  
"No Casey, I need a break"  
"I'm going to grab some stuff from your room, and I'll bring your Christmas gift over in a minute"  
"You don't need to give it to me"  
"What the fuck would I do with a braille smartwatch?"  
"Those are expensive, you can just return it"  
"I can't so just use it, I even found braille wrapping paper, so enjoy"  
"John"  
"Bye Chuck"  
“But you said to never say bye”  
Casey looked at Chuck one last time before he walked away.

Chuck felt around until he found the doorbell, but knocked just in case  
"Hey Chuck"  
"Sarah?"  
"Come inside before you two freeze"  
"Where is John?"  
"He didn't tell you?"  
"We broke up three weeks ago, I just got back from California, spent Christmas and New Years with my family"  
"He shipped out two days before Christmas"  
"What? He told me he was done"  
"Well when you have no reason to stay I guess it's easy to leave"  
"Right" Chuck felt like he was about to cry  
"Listen, Chuck, John is not the greatest guy, and I've literally known him my entire life and I've never seen him like this. You are truly something special Chuck and the way he is with you blows my mind, it's the only time he ever smiles, and I know you can't see it but you genuinely make him happy"  
"I fucked up didn't I?"  
"He wouldn't talk to me about it, he just sent me a text saying he was shipping out and that you broke up with him."  
"Is it the same email as last time?"  
"Yeah, I've sent a few but haven't heard anything back"  
"Um okay, thanks Sarah, I'm going to head home, Thor needs some relaxing time after being at the airport most of the day"  
"If you need anything call me"  
"Sure"

'Jonn  
I just got back from California, just to find out you shipped out.  
I guess you had no reason to tell me. I hope you are doing okay.  
I have so much I want to say to you but an email probably isn't the best idea for that. I'm including a picture of Thor in a Christmas hat. We miss you  
-The really stupid blind guy who fucked up everything and is really sorry.'

'Casey,  
I just need you to know that I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me. I regretted it instantly but I just needed some space, not expecting you to go that far away.  
I've been going to therapy to work out my issues with sex and having someone in my life that cares about me so much. I wish I took your advice earlier.  
I guess I pushed you away because I was just waiting for you to trick me or tell me it was all a joke. And it's not fair to you that I'm comparing you to the people who hurt me in the past. My therapist said I should start writing down my feelings in a notebook, completely forgetting I'm blind, so she helped me set up a journal on my phone. I've been writing letters to you in it every day. But not stuff I want to send in emails that has to be read before you get them. You don’t have to reply, but I’m going to keep sending you pictures of Thor, hope that is okay  
-The guy who misses you so much it hurts.'

'Happy birthday, here is a picture of Thor in his birthday hat and a pup-cake full peanut butter. He is four now.  
Hope you had a good day and got some cake.  
Me and Sarah are so worried, please just send one email, it can only be one word. We don't care. We just need to know  
-Chuck and a very sad puppy'

'Happy one year of being neighbors, I can't believe it's only been a year, so much has happened. But I think this will be my last email. I've put the house up for sale, it's just too big for me. Sarah and Lindsey are helping me find a small place with a yard, and Sarah will be picking the moving company so there isn't another fiasco like last time. I thought about leaving NC but I'm going to stay, at least for a while. Hope you are well.  
-Chuck'

'Okay this is my last one, the house sold, and I realized I never told you that for Christmas I got you the title to the car with a gift card to buy parts and stuff for it. We had it moved over to your garage along with stuff Sarah thought you might want. The rest is going with the house, so maybe you can talk to the new owners whenever you get back.  
Hope your Easter isn't horrible and you get some deviled eggs.  
Goodbye Major Casey  
-Chuck and Thor’

Chuck really loved his new place, the living room and kitchen took up most of the space, but he also had a second bedroom he used for his workspace and Thor had a decent backyard to play in. Yesterday was the last day of school and Chuck didn't know what he was going to do for the summer. He was laying on the cool wooden floor in his living room in just his boxers because his air conditioning stopped working and he had to wait for a repairman to come the next day between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. He still thinks about Casey every day and goes to therapy once a week, but hasn’t sent any emails, he told himself that he wouldn’t send any more until he heard back from him. Which he hasn't.

"Call from an unknown number"  
"Alfred answer on speaker" Chuck didn't feel like moving "hello, this is Chuck Bartowski"  
"Mr. Bartowski, this is General Beckman with the C.I.A"  
"You've got to be shitting me"  
"Excuse me Mr. Bartowski?"  
"Uh sorry, how can I help you" he got up and grabbed his phone off the coffee table.  
"You are listed as the emergency contact for Major John Casey"  
"Oh god no" Chuck sank down into the couch.  
"Major Casey was captured back in early February, he was rescued a few days ago and landed here in Washington D.C earlier today"  
"So he is alive? Can I come see him?"  
"That's why I'm calling, the doctors think it would be nice to have someone familiar there, we are arranging a plane for you"  
"Do you know i'm blind? I'll need to bring my service dog, and maybe my assistant or Casey's cousin to help"  
"Mr. Bartowski, I am the head of the C.I.A, I know everything about you"  
"Right"  
"I'll email you the flight details, a car will pick you and your guest up at the airport and take you to Major Casey, and Chuck, just remember he has been held captive for four months"  
"Thank you General"  
Chuck called Sarah and told her everything then started packing a bag for him and Thor while on the phone with Ellie letting her know.


	3. Chapter 3

Chuck started crying the second the plane landed in Washington D.C. he held the bear Casey got him running his fingers on the shapes on it's back or across Casey's name on the patch on the front, he didn’t care what anyone thought about a grown man holding a teddy bear.  
He thought the ride to the hospital was the longest moment of his life, but then he got into the elevator at the hospital and that was the longest moment of his life.  
He started crying harder when they walked into the room and Thor began to whine. "Thor it's okay" his voice cracked.  
"Why are you two crying?"  
"Casey?"  
"I'm fine"  
"Thor take me to Casey," he thought Thor was going to dislocate his shoulder with how hard he pulled Chuck toward him, when he felt the bed he took off Thor's gear and he instantly jumped into the bed. "Calm down buddy, it's okay" Casey rubbed Thor’s head as Thor licked his face.  
"I got a call from the head of the C.I.A, she sent a private plane for us, I thought we were coming to say goodbye"  
"Sorry I forgot you were still my emergency contact"  
"Please John, let me, can I please" he reached his hand out "I just need to"  
"It's fine"  
"Are you hurt anywhere on your face?" Chuck could barely get the words out he was crying so hard.  
"Do whatever you need to do to calm yourself down"  
Chuck felt along the bed until he felt Casey's arm, lightly trailing his finger up to his shoulder then to his neck, hesitating before holding Casey's face in his hand, running his finger over the scar on his cheek "You have a beard"  
"Those assholes didn't let me shave" Casey joked “But I’m shaving it the first chance I get”  
“I like how it feels” he ran his fingers through the scruff on his cheeks  
“It’s itchy”  
"I've been sending you pictures and emails since the start of the year and I was mad at you for not responding and then I thought you were dead and"  
"Bartowski" Casey grabbed Chuck's hand "I swear I'm fine, sit down on the bed with me" he smiled at Sarah "Thanks for getting him here safe Sarah"  
"Glad you're fine John, I'm going to get some coffee, anyone want anything?"  
"No" Chuck and Casey said at the same time.  
"I'm sorry John, I'm so fucking sorry"  
Casey wrapped his arms around Chuck pulling him into a hug.   
"We can talk later just lay here with me"  
Chuck adjusted so he was laying on his side, his head on Casey's chest, Thor moved so that he was curled up at their feet.  
"Tell me if I'm hurting you, I can't see if you are hurt, but I can't tell you are not as muscular"  
"I've barely had much to eat these past few months and I was tortured daily, everything hurts, but I'm alive so that's what matters"  
"I don't even know what to say, I’m so sorry you had to go through that”  
“I’m fine, just lay here, It’s what I need right now please”

“Well aren’t you three just so adorable” Sarah snapped a picture  
“Shut up Walker” Casey mumbled.  
“So cousin, how long do you have to stay here?”  
“Not sure, I have to eat small meals that are monitored by a nutritionist until my body gets used to eating regular meals, they are still running tests. I have to be questioned by a few people, evaluated for mental health stuff. Maybe a month"  
"I'll get a hotel, I'll stay, please let me stay"  
"You can't live in a hotel Chuck"  
"I can't be away from you, I need you in my life, even if we are just friends, me and Thor need you"  
“I’m going to go find a hotel for me and Chuck, let you two talk” Sarah left the room.  
"I'm not going anywhere, I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you two, the thought of seeing you again made me never give up" he tipped Chuck's chin up so he could kiss him. "Still have those emails? I'd like to read them and see all the pictures"  
"Of course”

“Where is your new house?”  
“Two blocks away from yours”  
“How’s the kitchen?”  
“It’s the reason I wanted to live there, it's very nice and the appliances are new”  
“I’m glad you decided to go to therapy”  
“I wish I did it sooner, it’s been really good”  
“And no I didn’t get cake or deviled eggs”  
Chuck started crying again  
“Hey stop that”  
“I just can’t believe that happened to you”  
“I’m fine”  
“You keep saying that”  
“Because it’s true. I’ve trained for situations just like that”  
“Do you work for the C.I.A?”  
“Sometimes”  
“Are you a spy?”  
“Sometimes”  
“That’s cool”  
“I’m retiring though”  
“Good, but what are you going to do?”  
“Hmm let's see, I’d spend the weekends on the couch watching nerdy movies with my boyfriend, and work on the old car he gave me, take afternoon naps with Thor, maybe learn to cook”  
“Boyfriend?”  
“Well if you’ll take me back”  
“God yes, Casey I”  
“I know” Casey pulled Chuck more on top of his as they kissed

They were sitting on Casey's hospital bed, legs crossed, facing each other with a tray in between them.  
“Come on, eat it”  
“I ate it all”  
“I know you are lying, and I remember you telling me you liked all foods”  
“I didn’t think you would feed me asparagus”  
“It’s good”  
“Nothing this hospital makes is good, and it makes my pee smell”  
“You need to eat it, get healthy again, I know how bad you are dying to get into the gym”  
“Then tell them I need to move in with you and Sarah and let you cook for me”  
“We tried that last week and it didn’t work. What if I call that Beckman person and beg? Can I prove that I can cook this stuff for you? I know how to make all of this, with more flavor”  
“I’ll ask her next time I talk to her, but the convenience of my physical therapy and mental therapy all being in the same building it what is keeping me here”  
“I’m starting to wish I never sold the house”  
“It made sense though”  
“Yeah but now I can’t just walk over”  
“You have never been to my house”  
“Technically I went over there when I came back after new years, but I only stepped into the entryway”  
"I can come visit you, I'll have a lot of free time"  
"Are you going to get a job?"  
"I don't need to, but I'm sure after a month or so I'll get bored and need something to keep me busy while you're at school"  
"It has to be weird, leaving something that was twenty years of your life"  
"I'm sure it will be, but I'm ready"  
"How are you so okay? I am still struggling with the way bullies treated me in middle school and college, but you were tortured every single day for like four months"  
"It's just how I am. I'm sure I'll have some nightmares, maybe in a few months it will hit me hard and I'll have a breakdown. I don't know how to explain it, and now I just have more braille on my body for you to feel"  
"I admire you"  
"Seriously? I admire you so much Chuck, you are the most amazing person I have ever met"  
"Don't think flattery will get you out of eating this asparagus" Chuck teased.  
"For every asparagus, I eat, I get a kiss"  
"I don't want an asparagus kiss" Chuck stuck out his tongue teasingly. "Just eat them so we can play chess, I'm dying to try it"  
"How exactly does it work?"  
"The pieces stick to the board so I can run my hands over it and feel where each piece is without knocking them over. I also brought braille cards so we can play something with those too"  
"Strip poker?"  
"Strip poker is only fun for sighted people, plus I don't know how to play so I'd be the only naked one"  
"Sounds like a great idea to me"  
"Maybe when we get back to North Carolina" Chuck heard Thor eating something "Did you really just give Thor the asparagus?"  
"Nope"  
"John"  
"There is no proof"  
"There will be when he pees later"  
"So how about some chess"  
"You're ridiculous"

"Welcome home, well to my home, that will be your home for however long it takes to get new floors."  
"Looks nice, want to give me a tour?"  
When they returned after almost a month in California, Casey's fridge malfunctioned and the water in the door thing turned on and ruined the floors in his kitchen, living room, hallway and the half bath.  
"Let's start with the kitchen, it's the best part. The living room is nice and open too as I'm sure you can see, but it has all the same stuff as the last place so it's nothing special" Chuck held Casey's hand as he lead him through the house.  
"So Lindsey is having a cookout this weekend for 4th of July. She said the invite is hanging on the fridge, I think there is written info along with the braille"  
"It's my favorite holiday, of course, I want to go and I can almost read braille, I've been practicing"  
"Show me"  
Casey grabbed the invitation off the fridge "Cover my eyes, so you know I'm not cheating"  
Chuck did as he was told as Casey ran his fingers over the paper.  
"I can tell it says of July but I don't know numbers yet, it says bring swimwear, each person is assigned a side dish when they R.S.V.P. this down here is possibly a date and time because I don't recognize it. Over here I think it says there will be beer and at the bottom is what I believe to be her address"  
"I am so proud of you, that actually means so much to me that you learned"  
"Well after the hours spent typing that short letter to you, I learned a lot and I have a book too"  
"This is the part where you kiss me"   
Casey grabbed Chuck's hip pulling them together, slowly kissing him, cherishing the moment of being back together, not in a hospital room.  
"I think I should show you where the bedroom is"  
"Is that so?"  
"I got a new bed, it's very comfortable"  
"Damn Bartowski, we have been home for five minutes and you're already wanting to take me to bed"  
"If you want"  
"Oh I want"  
Chuck gave him one more kiss being grabbing his hand again and heading towards the bedroom

"So um, I've been doing stuff"  
"What kind of stuff?"  
"Sex stuff" Chuck blushed.  
"Hopefully not with other people"  
"God no, why would you think that?"  
"It was a joke Chuck"  
"I still don't want to rush into it, but I have been working on my "self-love" as my poor therapist put it, and I have been successful"  
"Want to show me?"  
Chuck touched Casey's face "I knew you were smirking"  
"I have not watched any more porn, but I have been doing some research"  
“We don’t have to do anything”  
“I really want to though, but I have one rule”  
“I have one rule that may change in the future”  
“Mine is, don’t ask if I’m okay, I will let you know because when you ask it opens up a can of emotional worms”  
“I will try my best to not ask”  
“What is yours?”  
“I’d like to keep my shirt on”  
“Does that mean I can’t put my hands under it”  
“Yeah”  
“Want to talk about it?”  
“No”  
“That’s fine, wanna make out?”  
Casey laughed pulling Chuck down on the bed with him "Wanna tell me about this self-love you have been working on?"  
"I started with trying twice a week, the first two times I had panic attacks, the third time I was able to almost finish before I panicked, the fourth time I almost finished but started crying because I missed you and I was mad at myself for breaking up with you. Then I took a week off and for a few weeks I was able to finish almost every time, then um I started um" he nervously chewed at his bottom lip  
"You don't have to tell me, I was just curious"  
"I started fingering myself"  
"Oh"  
"It actually helped a lot, imagining it was you"  
"Fuck" Casey moaned into a kiss, o ly breaking apart long enough to get Chuck's shirt over his head.  
"What do you want to do Chuck?" Casey started working on getting Chuck's pants off.  
"Can we try a blow job?"  
"God yes" Casey growled  
"Promise you won't get mad if I stop you"  
"Promise" Casey rolled them over so Chuck was on his back.   
He moved to the end of the bed so he could pull Chuck's pants and boxers off.  
"I've missed you" Casey moved up between Chuck's spread legs, peppering kisses along his hip.  
"Please John, I'm ready, I want to feel you" Chuck put his hand on Casey's cheek feeling his jaw muscles move as he took Chuck's dick into his mouth.  
"Holy shit Casey" in the back of his mind Chuck wanted to freak out and push him away, but he knew it was Casey and he knew how much Casey cared about him.   
He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Casey run a finger over his hole. "Yes, yes, please yes" Chuck reached for the nightstand trying to find the lube.   
"I'll get it" Casey moved up and grabbed the bottle from the drawer.   
"Why are your jeans still on?"  
"Right now I'm focusing on you"  
"What about you?"  
"We can worry about that later, right now I'm going to make you come so hard you forget your name"  
"Ok" Chuck choked out as Casey took him back into his mouth.   
Casey had worked him up to two fingers when Chuck came screaming his name.  
Chuck pulled on Casey's shirt "Get your jeans off, my turn"  
"If you just want to kiss and use your hand that would work" Casey laid down next to Chuck, quickly removing his pants and briefs.  
"I want to use my mouth"  
"Okay"  
Chuck sat up feeling his way down Casey's body, wishing his shirt was off but he respected Casey's wishes.  
"I think I remember what to do" He moved between Casey's legs, running both hands up Casey's thighs.  
"I'm sure you will do just fine" Casey ran his fingers through Chuck's hair.  
Chuck wrapped one hand around the base of Casey's dick and the other one he used to cup his balls. He leaned forward licking around Casey's tip before taking him into his mouth, moving his mouth down to meet his hand then moving them together continuing to massage Casey's balls in his other hand.  
"If you want" Casey moaned "You can, you can try and finger me"  
Chuck sat up quickly "I'd very much like that, where is the lube?"  
"Here" Casey put the bottle in Chuck's hand   
Chuck poured some of the lube on his finger, making a bit of a mess but he was very eager to try this. Still sitting up, he ran his lubed up finger down from Casey's balls to his hole. "I can't see, so let me know if I'm doing it wrong or hurting you"  
"I'm aware that you're blind Chuck"  
Chuck pushed the tip of his finger in making Casey laugh turn into a moan.  
"Good?"  
"Keep going"   
Chuck twisted his finger around pushing it deeper as he licked up Casey's shaft. He went to the second knuckle before pulling almost all the way out before slowing pushing back in a little deeper. Casey arched his back tugging at Chuck's hair as his finger moved over his prostate. "Fuck, your mouth is going to be the death of me Chuck"  
Chuck hummed as he continues to lick and suck his way up and down as his finger kept a slow pace.  
It took less than a minute longer before Casey was coming, Chuck tried again to swallow like Casey did but he wasn't a fan so he pulled off and continued to stroke and finger him through his orgasm.  
"Welcome home" Chuck laughed as he collapsed on Casey's chest  
"Give me a few minutes, then we should shower and have some lunch"  
"Are you going to shower with your shirt on?"  
"No, but I'd like you to not touch my back"  
"Yeah, yeah of course" He kissed Casey neck, "You know you can talk to me about anything right"  
"I know, but I'm not ready"  
"Just promise you won't keep it locked away forever. You don't have to tell me, but at least talk to someone"  
"Promise"

“You will be fine, we are the only two here right now, well besides Lindsey and her dad but they are over at the grill”  
“Do you know CPR?”  
“Yes Chuck, but you will be okay, I’m not letting go of you”  
Chuck heard a big splash and screamed  
Casey was laughed “You can thank Thor for that one”  
“What did he do?”  
“He jumped in, probably to check on his panicked owner”  
Thor swam over and nudged Chuck’s leg.  
“I’m okay buddy” Chuck tightened his grip on Casey’s shoulders “I can do this”  
“I can put the floaties on you if you want” Casey held on to Chuck's hips  
“Shut up” Chuck stepped down to the next step  
“You are over six feet tall, this end of the pool is three and a half and we won’t go any deeper, so as long as you are standing up you are fine” Casey led him a few steps into the pool.  
"It feels nice, less scary than I thought"  
"Then maybe you can pull your nails out of my shoulder"  
"Shit sorry" Chuck loosened his grip.  
"Just tell me what you want to do"  
"Are you okay walking backward?"  
"I'm fine"  
"Can we walk deeper, just a little bit" Casey took him a few steps more  
"How deep does it go?"  
"Eight feet"  
"Oh god don't go all the way, how do you keep your head above water?"  
"You use your arms and legs, it's an instinct. Your body will know what to do"  
"I don't believe you"  
"We don't have to try it"  
"How long do we have?"  
"Don't worry about it" Casey was slowly moving them deeper.  
Chuck had a moment of panic, jumping into Casey, wrapping his legs around his waist and clinging tight to his neck  
"What the hell was that?"  
"I panicked"  
"Obviously" Casey couldn't help but laugh.  
"How about we just stay like this?"  
"We can but I have a better idea" he gave Chuck a quick kiss"Don't move"  
"Are you letting go of me? Please don't"  
"Hold onto the wall" Casey guided Chuck's hand to the edge before letting go of him.  
Casey got out to grab a few pool noodles.  
"Tuck these two noodles up under your armpits and I'll hold on to your hips from behind and you can practice kicking your legs to move and get used to floating"  
"Did you say noodles?"  
"That's what these are called, pool noodles, they are foam and have a hole running through the middle"  
"I'm having traumatic flashbacks to when my dad tried to get me to ride a bike when I was six"  
"You are in charge, I'm not pushing it, and if you want to stop I'm right here"  
"These things can hold me?"  
"Yes, but I'll only let go if you ask or if you go too deep and I need my arms"  
Chuck kept his steps small until his toes barely touched the ground "Hold on to me please"  
"I'm still here" Casey squeezed his hips  
"I'm going to lift my feet up" Chuck took a deep breath, lifting one foot "Oh this is crazy" he lifted the other one   
"Just don't kick me"  
"Why are pools so deep? No one is eight feet tall"  
"So you can go off the slide or diving board"  
"There is a slide!"  
"I need to let go so I can keep myself up, are you ready or do you want me to take you back"  
"I'm so ready, I'm not scared anymore"  
"You're doing great Chuck"  
"Is it stupid that I want to go down the slide?"  
"You're going to need to go underwater first"  
"What if I get confused and can't find my way up?"  
"Just go straight down with your hands at your side and legs straight then when your feet hit the bottom you bend your knees and push up. Oh and hold your breath"  
"If I try will you be able to help if something goes wrong?"  
"Yes"  
"Being in the water is so relaxing, why have I never done this before?"  
"I have no idea"  
"Can we move back to where I can touch the bottom, I want to try something"  
Casey turned him around leading him to the shallow end.  
"Ok so I'm going to let go of the noodles and hold on to your hands and go under the water"  
"Okay"  
Chuck took a deep breath and slowly bent his knees until the water was up to his chin.   
"Close your eyes too"  
Once his head was fully under the water he quickly jumped back up to standing. "That was weird"  
"Do it again, this time I'll go with you"  
They went underwater at the same time, Casey let go of one of Chuck's hands moving it to the back of his neck to pull him into a kiss before they came back up.  
"You're cute"  
"Shut up"  
"So can I go down the slide now?"  
"We are going to go together, and I'm going to ask Lindsey to stand by just in case"  
"I'm so excited, wait where is Thor?"  
"Laying out in the sun on his back with all four legs up like a weirdo"

Chuck's knuckles were white as he gripped the edge of the slide waiting for Casey to move in behind him "is this dangerous?"  
"Probably"  
"Casey"  
"It's either this or I try and catch you and we both get hurt" Casey wrapped his arms tightly around Chuck's waist   
"Ready"  
"No"  
"I'm here too Chuck" Lindsey called out from next to the slide.  
"Ok" Chuck closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's do this" Chuck moved his hands to Caseys.   
"When I say now hold your breath"  
Casey kissed his shoulder "I got you, you're fine" he used his feet to inch them forward. Chuck dug his fingers into Casey's hands as they began to move down the slide.  
"Now," Casey said as they got to the end of the slide.  
When they came up Chuck had a huge smile on his face. "Holy shit that was insane"  
"Did you like it?" Casey lead him towards the shallow end.  
"I wanna do it again, can I jump off the diving board?"  
"You can do whatever you want"  
"Good job Chuck"  
"Thanks, Lindsey"  
"People will probably start showing up in about ten minutes"  
"Okay, thank you" Casey grabbed Chuck's hand "Wanna jump in?"  
"And I want to try the slide alone, just have you tell me when to hold my breath"  
"Okay, want me to walk you to the diving board?"  
"Yeah, I don't want to fall in"

Chuck made his way to the end of the board slowly, feeling with his foot before taking a step until his toes felt the edge.  
"So you want to jump make sure you jump out into the water not straight up and remember once you feel the bottom push up, I'll be right here"  
Chuck did as he was told, and had a moment of panic when he was underwater but then he remembered everything Casey had told him, and next thing he knew he was above water being grabbed by Casey.  
Chuck grabbed the front of Casey's shirt, "Oh my god that was so fun  
“I’m so fucking proud of you”   
“I love you so much John”   
"I love you too Chuck"  
Chuck wrapped his legs around Casey's waist as they kissed.

“Okay love birds, you’re in public”  
“Hi Sarah, guess what? I went down the slide and jumped off the diving board, I’ve never actually been in a pool before so we were celebrating and also your cousin loves me and I love him”  
“Wow that was a lot of information, congratulation Chuck, I am proud of you”  
“Thanks, are you going to get in?”  
“Depends, are you two going to keep making out like teenagers?”  
“Maybe” Chuck smirked. “But I want to go down the slide again.  
After about a half-hour of playing in the pool with Casey, Sarah and some other people who showed up they all got out to eat.  
“This is the part where I ask nicely for my boyfriend to list all the food and make my plate”  
“We were going to put braille labels on all the spoons but then we realized you would have to feel for them and risk putting your hand in the food, so I will make you plate”  
"You're so sweet"  
"Don't tell anyone"   
"i was some of that steak I can smell, is there corn on the cob? I want that too, and of course, the veggie slaw I made, and Sarah's potato salad"  
"Green bean?"  
"Yes"  
"I'm going to make a separate plate of chips and this seven-layer dip and guac that we can share"  
"Oh my god yum"  
"So I have to warn you, the only seating is a picnic table or a glass table"  
"Uhh, neither"  
"How about you grab on to my shoulders and I'll lead you over to the glass table and when you need to get up I'll help, you won't trip over anything"  
"Okay"

"The chips and dip are to the right, where I'll be sitting, plate is in front of you, silverware and napkin to the left and I'll grab you a drink on the way back"  
"You are the best, I love you so much"  
"I'll be right back"  
"Hi Chuck, It's Lucy, Lindsey's sister, not sure if you remember me or not"  
"I do, hi" he held out his hand to shake hers "How are you doing?"  
"Well not sure if Lindsey told you or not but we just found out I'm pregnant"  
"Oh that's so exciting congratulations"  
"Thank you, we are so happy"  
"I still haven't decided if I want kids or not, I love being with my niece but my sister or brother in law are always around to do everything for her, and the last time she was at my house she was leaving toys everywhere and I kept tripping over them. Then I start to think about bath time and changing diapers and it just scares me and I would feel so guilty having to rely on my partner to do everything"  
"Have you talked to John about it yet?"  
"No, we haven't been together that long, so it's way too early, but I guess it would be a good idea to see how he feels"  
"Blind people have kids all the time, maybe talk to some of the people at the blind school"  
"That's a good idea"  
"I got you a sweet tea, it's at the top of your plate"  
"Thank, what did you get to eat?"  
"Same as you but I also got a hot dog and some baked beans"

"Want to lay in the hammock and let the food settle before we get back in the pool?"  
"Did you forget the day we met? Hammocks are probably ten times worse than a swing"  
"How about we lay on one of the blankets that I think are set up for the fireworks later tonight"  
"I hate fireworks, I can't see them and the sound usually scares me"  
"I hate them too, they remind me of battle"  
"Oh shit, I didn't even think about that"  
"It's okay, I was thinking we could either stay and make out and hope it distracts us, or we can stay a little bit longer then head home and cuddle up on the couch and watch Independence Day"  
"I like plan number two, I've never seen that movie"  
"Technically you have never seen any movie"  
"Haha, so funny"  
"I do own it, so we will have to stop by my place, I need to get some more clothes and a few other things"  
Chuck ran his hand up Casey's arm, up his neck to his ear, keeping his hand there he leaned forward until his lips touched it "Please tell me that includes at least one jockstrap"  
Casey laughed, "Damn Bartowski, maybe we should head out now"  
"I think that is a great idea, lead me to my dog, then we need to find Lindsey and a good excuse to leave so early"


	4. Chapter 4

"So how do you feel about fairs?"  
"I've actually never been to one"  
"Would you like to?"  
"Sure" Chuck shrugged "When is it?"  
"Last week of this month until some time next month. We would be back before school starts"  
"Wait. Where is it?"  
"Indiana"  
"Seriously?"  
"I know you don't like traveling or staying in new places, but after what happened, my mom has been bugging me about coming to visit and bringing that cute boy of mine to come see her. Her words not mine"  
"Um yeah okay, just be prepared for me to be a bit panicky and possibly moody"  
"You don't have to"  
"I want to, I really do"  
"I'll try to make it as easy as possible"  
“Hotel or her house?”  
“What would be easier for you?”  
“Her house I’m assuming since we will be visiting there, that way I’m only memorizing one place”  
“She would absolutely love that, but she has a cat, not sure if that will mess with Thor”  
“You may just have to put in some more work as my guide man”  
“I’m fine with that, she is going to be so excited”  
“Tell me more about this fair”  
“It’s the state fair, there is an insane amount of fatty foods, some ride, some carnival games and a ton of farm animals”  
“I don’t do rides, but I’m very interested in the farm animals and food”  
“You’re going to gain ten pounds because everything is fried”  
“Is corn the main food”  
Casey laughed “No, but there is amazing corn on the cob and there is an insane amount of kettle corn”  
“Oh I love kettle corn”  
“It’s fresh and warm and it will ruin all other popcorn for you. I think you will enjoy the elephant ears too”  
“Please tell me it’s not actual elephant”  
"why would it be?"   
"I don't know what else it could be"  
“It’s a flat piece of fried dough, typically with powdered sugar, but I get it with ice cream and strawberries”  
“Yum, I’m ready, let’s go”  
“I’ll call my mom and get the plane tickets”  
“Can I stay here tonight?”  
“I’d never say no to that, but my fridge and cabinets are empty”  
“I love that you have food for Thor here but not for me”  
“Well we can order delivery for us, not for him”  
“But he would love some beef and broccoli” Chuck laughed. “And I’m one hundred percent stealing some of your clothes”  
“I wouldn’t expect anything different, even though I’d prefer you with no clothes”  
“How about I figure out dinner while you figure out our trip to Indiana, then I think I should get a tour of your bedroom and we can talk about the no clothes thing”

“I think I’m ready”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, and I want to try”  
“Do you want to top or bottom?”  
“Bottom” Chuck blushed. “But I want to do it face to face so I can touch your face and body"  
“That we can do” Casey held himself above Chuck trailing kisses up his neck to his mouth.  
Chuck got lost in the moment and forgot about the one rule he had to follow, his hand went up from where he was gripping Casey's ass to under his shirt, it was when he felt the bumpy skin that he froze "Oh no, fuck" he quickly pulled his hand away "I'm so sorry, I was distracted and forgot please don't get mad, please can we keep going"  
"It's fine Chuck"  
"No it's not, I broke the rules"  
"Maybe it's time I tell you about it, I do miss our showers together, and I actually hate having a shirt on in bed  
"Only if you're ready"  
Casey sat up and removed his shirt, he took a deep breath, "My back is covered in scars from being burnt and whipped and cut and who knows what else, sometimes I would make myself pass out so I didn't have to feel it anymore"  
"Oh my god" Chuck couldn't control the stream of tears running down his cheeks, he sat up wanting to hug Casey but he wasn't sure if Casey was ready to be touched. "I wish I could go back in time and take this all away"  
"Everything happens for a reason"  
"I hate when people say that"  
"Here's how I look at it, it was meant to be me because I am a stubborn ass who refuses to die. My emotions are wired differently so I can handle the torture, if it was someone else on my team they may have died so I'd rather it be me being tortured than someone else who couldn't have taken it"  
"That's fucked up, but I get it"  
"I didn't want you to feel them because I knew how you would react, I didn't want you to be sad or blame yourself"  
"I am sad, very sad"  
"Come here" he pulled Chuck into his arms.   
"Does it hurt?"  
"Not anymore, some spots I have no feeling at all, the rest is like scar tissue, most of it was healed when they saved me, luckily I didn’t get an infection”  
“Can I just hold you for a little bit, maybe we can have sex later, but right now I just need to hold you and kiss you and tell you how much I love you and how happy I am that you are still alive”  
“Sounds good to me”

“Casey”  
“Hm,” he buried his face between Chuck’s shoulder blades.  
“Your dick is poking me and it has me very turned on”  
Casey rolled over looking at the clock “It’s two in the morning”  
“Am I not allowed to lose my virginity at two?”  
Casey laughed. “I was just informing you of the time, I know how strict you are about your sleep schedule”  
“I don’t want to wait any longer, I want you John”  
“Get your pants off, I’ll be right back”  
“Where are you going?”  
“This is your first night staying here, I don’t have drawers on my nightstand so my lube is in the bathroom cabinet”  
“Okay,” Chuck didn’t want to get off the bed since he wasn't used to Casey’s room so stripped down in the bed and folded his clothes up and leaned over the side of the bed, placing them under the nightstand. He situated the pillows and moved a bit more into the center, he started to panic when he was laying there fulling naked, feeling exposed.  
“Casey” he yelled  
“Hey I’m right here” He pulled Chuck into his arms. “It’s me, you’re okay”  
Chuck grabbed Casey’s face, he knew it was him by his voice and the way he smelled, but feeling his face always brought Chuck comfort.  
“What happened?”  
“I was laying here naked and alone and it was really quiet and it brought back bad memories”  
“Sorry, I should have thought of that”  
“It’s not your fault”  
“Want me to get your clothes?”  
“No, just give me a minute to calm down, then I want to have sex, I don’t want to wait any longer. I need to replace all my bad memories associated with sex with amazing memories with you”  
Casey rubbed Chuck’s back “I can do that”  
When Chuck’s breathing started to even out, Casey moved his hand lower, squeezing his ass, Chuck took the hint and moved in Casey’s lap so he was straddling him and Casey could reach his hole. He cupped Casey’s face in both hands slowly kissing him as Casey’s lubed up finger pressed into him.   
Chuck was used to three of Casey’s fingers, but tonight Casey decided to go for a fourth just to be safe. “Oh fuck” Chuck moaned. “God that’s a lot”  
“Need to me to stop?”  
“I’ll smack you”  
Casey laughed pushing in deeper.  
“Can we…..wow….um" He pushed down on Casey's fingers "can we have sex like this?”  
“We can, gravity will help but your legs may get tired, but you will be in control of the speed”  
“I want to try, I’m so ready, so ready, please”  
“Condom?”  
“I did not wait all this time to have you come in a condom, I want to feel you”  
Casey growled “Here” he put the bottle of lube in Chuck’s hand “I want you to put it on me”  
Chuck moved back a bit “Actually can you pour it in my hand so I don’t make a huge mess?”  
Casey took the bottle back holding Chuck’s hand in one and he squeezed some lube into his palm. Chuck’s dry hand rubbed up Casey’s thigh until he reached his balls, massaging them in his hand while his other one wrapped around the base stroking up and twisting his hand around the tip then back down.  
“How do I do this?”  
“Sit on your knees, reach behind you and guide me in. I’ll hold on to your hips”   
Chuck resituated to be on his knees, taking a deep breath to keep himself calm, his hand was shaking when he grabbed Casey’s dick.   
“Hey” Casey kissed him “You need to stay calm or you will hurt yourself, and go slow”  
Chuck pushed down, wincing as Casey’s tip pressed into him. “Can I stay like this for a second?”  
“Do whatever you need to do”  
“It burns a little but at the same time it feels good” he pushed down a little more.  
Casey resisted the urge to thrust up into his boyfriend, it wasn’t easy, so to distracted himself he sucked a marks along Chuck’s collarbone.  
Without warning Chuck fully seated himself in Casey’s lap, making them both moan.  
“Holy shit Bartowski”  
Chuck grabbed the back of Casey’s neck, kissing him slowly as he moved his body up and down just as slow.   
“Can you go a bit faster?”  
“Yeah, I just wasn't sure”  
“You can go as fast as your legs will let you, just don’t pull all the way off and slam down, it would end badly for both of us”  
“Right” Chuck gripped Casey’s shoulder. "Let me know if I'm doing anything wrong or if i need to do anything different"  
"Just move" Casey eagerly kissed him, Chuck picked up speed with every few bounces.  
Casey was lost in the sight of Chuck, his skin damp with sweat, his head thrown back with his mouth open making the most amazing sounds. The way his dick was dancing between them and Casey’s favorite, the blue and purple marks in various stages of healing covering Chuck’s chest and shoulders.  
“We should have done this sooner, so good” Chuck panted “Can you touch me? I’m so close John”  
Casey’s hand moved quickly on Chuck’s length, it didn’t take long until Chuck was covering Casey’s hand and chest in his release  
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, god yes John, yes, you’re amazing, I love you so much”  
“Lay back” Casey helped Chuck back  
“What are doing?”  
“My turn” Casey grabbed Chuck’s legs, the back of his knees resting in the crook of his arms.  
Chuck gripped the sheets as Casey pounded into him.   
"Oh god, what was that sound?"  
Casey laughed "You popped the sheet off the corner of the mattress”  
“Oh,” Chuck laughed. "Sorry, keep going"   
Casey let go of Chuck’s legs so he could lean forward, pressing their bodies together so he could kiss Chuck as he filled him up.  
“I love you” he rested his forehead against chuck's  
I wanna do that again”  
Casey huffed “I’m going to need an hour or three”  
“I wish we came at the same time, cause I started to get hard again when you were on top”  
“We will work on that, now it's time to clean up and go to sleep”  
“I’m no longer tired”  
“Want me to suck you off?”  
“Yes please” Chuck practically moaned the words.

“You must be Chuck”  
“I am” he smiled, holding out his hand towards her  
“I’m Emma, and I prefer hugs”  
“I like hugs” Chuck opened his arms for her to hug him.  
“Johnny says you will need some time to walk around the house and learn where things are and I will try my best to not move anything or leave stuff on the floor, I think Zero will be the biggest problem”  
“Is that the cat?”  
“Yeah, she is very friendly”  
“I’ll probably do a walk through with Thor then let him off the harness to meet you and Zero and get used to stuff and I’ll use my cane most of the time so he has more time to relax before school starts”  
“Well I’ll let Casey walk with you and I’ll start dinner, how does chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes sound?”  
“Mmm” Chuck heard Casey behind him “You’ll love it, such a classic comfort food”  
“I’ve had chicken and noodles before but never mashed potatoes with soup”  
“It’s not a soup, it’s homemade egg noodles with shredded chicken and a thick broth”  
“Oh, well I’m very interested now, can you teach me how to make the noodles?”  
“I think it will actually be a good one for you, it’s very hands-on, we can do a walkthrough after, I’ll take Thor outback to run around and stretch his legs after that plane ride”

"Let me know if I over step, I've never been around someone who is blind"  
"Oh it's okay, id rather you grab me to stop me from getting hurt or hurting you"  
"Johnny says you cook a lot for him"  
"Almost every night, I absolutely love it"  
"Do you get hurt a lot?"  
"Not often, my kitchen is very organized and everything has a place so I know what I'm grabbing for. I do burn myself often but it's never bad, and the only time I've ever needed stitches was when I was cooking for Casey and he told me he was shipping out" he held out his finger "Here is the scar"  
"Can I ask about the big scar on your arm?"  
"Fell through a glass table tripping over a sandal"  
"That sounds horrible"  
"Perks of being blind, I could keep you here all night with stories"  
"Want to measure out the flour?"  
"Yeah, that I can do, but I'm guessing you don't have braille measuring cups" he laughed   
"I don't but this one is one cup" he put it in his right hand. "We need two cups of flour, which is in the bag in front of you and the bowl is right here" she bumped it against Chuck's fingers of his left hand that was resting on the countertop. Chuck carefully measured out the flour.  
"Then you want to do a few pinches of salt, I'll put the bowl in your hand"  
"I keep my salt like this too and Casey says it's weird, he bought a salt shaker for my place for himself but I can't tell how much salt comes out so i use a bowl and none of my spices have the shake top"  
"I prefer this way, it's more accurate"  
Chuck added a few pinches of salt.  
"So now you add one egg for every cup of flour, so today we will do two eggs"  
"I don't feel comfortable doing the eggs can you do those?"  
"Of course, I'll hand you a whisk and you can whisk the flour to mix the salt in and make sure there are no lumps, then when you're done you make a well into the middle of the flour, then the fun part"  
Chuck did as he was told, slightly jumping and flinging flour out of the bowl when Casey walked in and said hi very close to him.  
"Johnny that was not nice"  
"He does it often"  
"It's not my fault I was trained to be stealthy"  
"As a joke, I bought a bell necklace but he still manages to sneak up on me without it making noise"  
"Are you having fun?"  
"So far"   
"This is about to be the fun part. Hold out your hands, I'm going to pour some oil on them and you rub it around both hands, between your fingers and the backs of your hands. I'll pour the eggs into the well with a tiny bit of milk" she poured some oil in his hands "Start by pushing the flour from the sides down into the middle a little at a time, and fold it all together"  
“Oh this feels weird” Casey watched Chuck’s hand mix together the flour and eggs with so much care. No matter how many times he has seen him in the kitchen, it still amazes him.  
“Once it’s all mixed up we will cover the counter in flour and roll out the dough and use a pizza cutter to make the noodles. I’m going to start the chicken and broth while John starts mashing the potatoes. I cheat and buy the frozen potatoes that you just throw in the microwave and mash them up with milk and butter”  
“That's a thing? I need to get some”

“Holy shit that was amazing but I’m so full, I don’t think I can move”  
“You did a great job with the noodles”  
“Thanks, can you email me the recipe? Casey has been typing up all my grandmother’s recipes so my phone can read them to me and I’d like to add this”  
“Yeah I can do that”  
“Well since you two cooked, I’ll do the dishes, Ma maybe show Chuck around a bit”  
“I wish I could show him your baby pictures”  
“I’m glad you can’t”  
“Not fair! You have seen mine”  
“What did you want me to do, not look?”  
“Well no, I was just stating that it wasn’t fair”  
“Let me show you around then you can take a shower and settle in for the night”

“Need help?”  
“How did you know?”  
“You have been in here a while”  
“It took some time to figure out the faucet and the curtain is actually making things difficult and I can't figure out where my washcloth went so I turned the water off so I didn’t waste the hot water and I was hoping eventually you would come in here”  
Casey stripped off his clothes “I’m getting in”  
“We are not doing sex stuff here”  
“I just came in here to help you shower”  
“What did you tell her about you coming in here?”  
“I told her you are blind and in a new shower and it can be difficult and you may need help”  
“This is so embarrassing”  
“I don’t think so”  
“I’m an adult, I should be able to shower by myself”  
“I prefer helping” Casey ran a soapy washcloth over Chuck’s chest.  
“But you helping almost always leads to sexy time”  
“Want me to get out?”  
“No”  
“Want to have sex?”  
“Kinda”  
“Want to jack each other off real quick?’  
“Is that a bad idea?”  
“No, we are adults, we can do whatever we want, just don’t get too loud” Casey stepped closer.  
“Can you, um, I like when”  
“I like when you blush” Casey kissed his cheek. “Tell me what you want Chuck”  
The whisper sent chills down Chuck’s spine.  
“I like when you put both of us in your hand at the same time”  
“Yeah” Casey stroked Chuck’s length a few times before he wrapped his hand around the both of them “Like this?” he growled  
“Yes,” Chuck moaned into Casey’s mouth.

“What is that smell?”  
“Animal shit”  
“Oh god”  
“They are farm animals, what did you think it would smell like?”  
“I guess you’re right” Chuck sighed “I wish I could see them”  
“Want to pet a horse?”  
“Am I allowed?”  
“You are, my mom's friend has her horses here”  
“For what?”  
“Ever heard of 4-H? It’s big around here, they show all kinds of farm animals in competition and there is a building full of crafts, decorated cakes, art. Stuff like that”  
“I bet I can’t touch any of it”  
“Only the animals, and there is also a dog jumping competition”  
“What do they jump?”  
“They jump into the water and see who can go farthest”  
“I’m curious to see how Thor is going to act around the farm animals”  
“Well we brought his leash and your cane just in case he needs a break”  
“Can we get food first? I’m starving”  
“What do you want to start with?”  
“I don’t even know”  
“Fried butter?”  
“You’re lying”  
“I’m not, it’s a thing, but we are not getting it”  
“What else do they fry?”  
“Oreos, Snickers, bacon, kool-aid, Pepsi, Reese cups, pickles, ice cream sandwich, and more but my stomach is hurting just thinking about it. I have an idea though”  
“How does one fry some of those things, also I want to try the Reese cup, just not for breakfast”  
“Sorry all they have is picnic tables, will you be fine if I help you sit at one while I grab the food?”  
“Yeah”  
Casey helped Chuck sit on the bench and make sure Thor was out of the way before heading over to get them food from one of the many stands.  
“Excuse me, Sir”  
“Hello?”  
“Hi, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?”  
“Um yeah, my name is Chuck by the way”  
“My name is Amanda and I’m with my son Trevor”  
“Nice to meet you”  
“Are you blind?”  
“I am”  
“Trevor was born blind, he is five now, and I was wondering if you had any advice about when to get him a guide dog”  
“I have only had Thor for a few years, I was born with eye issues but didn’t fully lose it until I was fourteen and it took me many many years to be able to afford one. I’m from California so I’m not entirely sure what Indiana has to offer but there are programs that can help with the price. And I think sooner would be better, especially if he is going to a public school. I had a lot of issues in public school, but now I’m a third-grade teacher and Thor helps a lot with some of the students”  
“Thank you”  
“If he wants he can pet Thor” Chuck very carefully put one leg over the bench and rubbed Thor’s head “Break time Thor” he handed him a treat from the little pouch on his vest. “It’s okay to pet him now”  
Chuck could hear the little boy giggle, and it made him smile  
“If you want I can give you my email and you can message me anytime you want with questions, and I can get a hold of some of my contacts at the blind school and they may be able to get you in touch with people around here to help with anything you need”  
“What is he wearing?” a small voice asked.  
“Well right now he is wearing a vest that has pockets on it, since we will be out a lot today we put on his pocket vest so he can carry some food and water for himself, and he has some bowls that fold up and some baggies to pick up his poop and anything else we might need”  
“How does he work?”  
“Every service dog is different depending on what your needs are, Thor makes sure I don’t run into anyone, and back home he knows where some stores are so if I say, Thor I need coffee, he knows what shop to go to when we are in town. He also helps me when I’m sad”  
“That’s cool, I hope I can get one”  
“Can you read braille yet?"  
"I'm still learning, I know my name"  
"If you can feel Thor's collar, there is a metal piece hanging off that has his name is braille, if you want to feel it, it says T.H.O.R"  
"His name has some of the same letters as mine"  
"It does"  
“Chuck”  
“Oh Casey this is Amanda and Trevor, he is also blind”  
“Nice to meet you” Casey sat the food and drinks on the table.  
“Sorry to bother you, thank you so much”  
“You’re not bothering me at all, let me give you my info and an app you can download on your phone”

“That was nice”  
“It was” Chuck felt for the plate in front of him “What did you get me”  
“I got us a tenderloin, some twisted potatoes, a peach slushie, and a water”  
“What is a twisted potato?”  
“Touch it” he slid the plate in front of Chuck “They stick a potato into a machine that cuts it into one giant spiral”  
“Weird” Chuck’s fingers trailed over the potato tearing off a piece and tasting it “Oh it’s like chips but better”  
“There is a cup of cheese and a cup of ketchup didn’t know what you would want”  
“Now I want to try the tenderloin”  
“I’m going to let you feel how big it is, then I'm going to cut it”  
“This is one sandwich?”  
Casey laughed “Yeah, it’s an Indiana thing, giant tenderloins and sugar cream pie”  
“I’ve never once in my life heard of sugar cream pie”  
“We will get one to take back to my mom’s” Casey cut the sandwich in half "You were really good with him"  
“I am a teacher, I know how to deal with kids”  
“Or just because you are a good person”  
“Do you want kids?”  
“I’d be fine either way”  
“Would you want kids with me?”  
“If you wanted to, but I’m okay if you don't”  
“I do but I also think that you would have to do more of the work and that makes me feel guilty”  
“I’d be the stay at home parent, I mean you are the one with a job, so it would make sense”  
“We have a long time to figure that out, I was just curious”  
“We could always adopt a blind kid”  
Chuck took a big bite of his sandwich “Oh man this is really good”  
“Nice change of subject”  
“It’s too soon in our relationship to decide if we want kids, we don’t know what will happen”  
“I do love you, and I don’t plan on ever leaving you”  
“I love you too John, sorry to bring down the mood”  
“It’s okay, here, open your mouth”  
“You know how scary that is to a blind person?”  
“It’s just a chip with cheese on it”  
Chuck opened his mouth “Mmm, I’m going to gain so much weight”  
“Well the perk is all the walking we are going to do, it evens out”  
“I still want to try the elephant ear”  
“It’s another item we will have to split, it’s called an elephant ear because they are huge”  
“Oh I get it” Chuck laughed “When will your mom be here?”  
“Probably around four, she will want to go into the building with all the vendors to do some shopping”  
“Can we go with her? I should buy something that says Indiana for Ellie and maybe something for Clara”  
“That we can do”

“I’m so freaking scared”  
“It’s just a horse”  
“A massive horse, it’s taller than me, and I’m tall”  
“We are the same height”  
“Fine, it’s taller than us, and we are tall”  
“She is not going to hurt you, she is a sweetheart I promise”  
“I never knew horses were this big”  
“Well it’s a big breed, it’s a clydesdale, most horses are smaller than this.   
Casey grabbed Chuck’s hand “Here” he raised Chuck’s hand up to run along the horse’s neck.  
“I had no idea they were this soft, don’t they have hair like humans?”  
“Yeah, like a mohawk, this one has braids”  
“Can I feel them?”  
“Yeah just keep going up”  
“This is so neat”  
“They also have hair that goes over their hooves”  
“Is that a thing for just this type of horse?”  
“I think so, let me go ask Whitney to come over here”  
“You’re leaving me alone?”  
“I’ll be like ten feet away, I’ll be able to see you, and the horse is tied up”

“Hello, I’m Whitney”  
“Hi, I’m Chuck” He held out his hand so she could shake it.  
“Would you like to feel her hooves?”  
“That sounds so dangerous?”  
“Well I need to check her shoes, so I’ll have ahold of her leg, and she is trained for this so it will be fine, you will be in no danger”  
“Okay, is Thor in a good spot for me to have him take a break?”  
“If we open the stall behind him there is some water he can drink if you want”  
“I’ll take care of that” Casey grabbed the handle from Chuck  
“Okay Chuck, are you comfortable with me guiding your hand?”  
“Of course, I don’t want to do anything wrong and get someone hurt”  
“Her name is Luna, she is our biggest one, but she is also the nicest, and they read off your energy, so the calmer you are, the calmer she is”  
“I’m trying my best”  
“So what we do it run a hand down her side, down her leg and she is trained to bend her knee and I hold it in my lap and look over the hairs and check her hooves and her shoes and makes sure nothing is wrong”  
“Do you ride horses this big?”  
“Sometimes, they are used to haul stuff, we use ours for show, we have smaller horses out at the farm for riding. Have you ever rode a horse?”  
“I have not, this is my first time being around most farm animals”  
“If you reach your hand out, I can guide you to it”  
“Wow” Chuck ran his fingers through the hairs “What color are they?”  
“She is a deep brown and then from the knees down she is white”  
“Is her mane white?”  
“Nope it's shade or two darker brown than the rest of her”  
“She is so soft, thank you so much for letting me do this”  
“No problem, and I’m sure if you ask some other farmers they will gladly let you pet their animals, and there is a petting zoo area that has alpacas, goats, sheep, and a zebra”  
“A zebra?”  
“Yeah it was rescued from a hoarding situation”  
“I’ll have to have Casey look for it on the map”  
“I hope you enjoy the fair and your trip to Indiana”  
“Thank you so much Whitney”

“Why are people yelling?”  
“They are trying to get us to play games that are over priced for a stuffed animal”  
“You should win me something”  
“Seriously?”  
“Win Thor something then”  
“Let me look around and see what game I have a chance at”  
“Are they rigged?”  
“Mostly, or it’s luck, just depends on the game”  
“Is there one that involves strength?”  
“Yeah but I think I’m going to try this dart game, if I get all five darts in the middle of the stars then I get the giant prize”  
“What are the prizes?”  
“I have one in mind, you will have to guess what it is”  
“Need a good luck kiss?”  
“Sure” Casey gave him a quick kiss.  
Chuck tried to listen to the darts hit the board but there were a lot of noises around him.

“Hi boys”  
“Hi Ma”  
“Hi Emma”  
“What do you have there Chuck?”  
“Casey won me this giant rainbow alpaca, then one guy saw Thor’s name tag and gave him this small stuffed hammer for free”  
“Why a rainbow alpaca?”  
“For his niece Clara, we can put it in a vacuum bag and mail it to her before we leave here”  
“I asked him to win me something and he won something for my niece and my dog”  
“I’ve been buying you food”  
“I guess that kind of counts”  
“Have you guys been having fun?”  
“I’ve gotten to pet a bunch of animals, including a zebra”  
“What is the best thing you have eaten?”  
“The deep-fried Reese cup, or the turkey leg, but honestly I think I’m addicted to the root beer, glad I got the refillable cup”  
“He has had four cups and we are going to head back and get another one”  
“Wanna head into the vendor area”  
“I’m going to warn you now Chuck, there is a lot of people and they will be trying to oversell you everything”  
“Last year there was a booth that makes homemade dog treats that are all natural and are shaped like hamburgers, hotdogs and fries”  
“Let me know if you see it, I’d love to get Thor something”  
“This is a time when being blind is a plus, people can’t bother you with demonstrations of their overpriced products”  
“Want to use my cane and act like you are blind too” Chuck laughed.  
“I'm going to need you to hold my hand so the crowd doesn’t freak me out”

“What the fuck, Casey? Hello?”  
“Hello Sir”  
“Who are you? Thor schützen” Thor started growling at the mystery person.  
“Chuck are you okay?”  
“Someone grabbed my foot as I was standing here listening to these wind chimes”  
“Sorry, I was trying to show him this shoe cleaner”  
“You don’t just walk up to someone and spray shit on their shoes without saying anything at all, especially a blind person”  
“I didn’t know you were blind, can you please call the dog off?”  
“Thor down” Chuck rubbed his head “You’re a good boy”  
“Leave before I shove that can up your”  
“Casey”  
“Sorry Sir”  
“Just don’t touch people without their permission, it’s not okay and it won’t get them to buy your product”  
Casey grabbed Chuck’s hand “Come on”  
“Wait, I want to get one of those wind chimes”  
“We can do that, they are behind you and one booth over”  
Chuck reached out and touched one of the wind chimes “I can see this one, well I can tell it’s reflecting light. What does it look like?”  
“Uh a wind chime” Casey laughed “It’s like a purple, blue, shiny metal, kind of like an oil spill”  
“I have no idea what that is” Chuck laughed. “What is this?”  
“A heart, it’s what you hold and move around to make them make noise”  
“I want one for my backyard”  
“Okay, there is also one in the same colors with a hummingbird instead of a heart”  
“I’ll take it, then I need to go stand somewhere away from people and take a breather”  
“We can do that”  
“You can keep walking around with your mom”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah, just have your phone on”  
“Let’s buy this and I’ll lead you over to a bench over by the wall” 

“Here is the bench, there aren’t any people over here at the moment and I’m putting your root beer on the seat next to you, and I’m going to go ahead and get Thor’s food and water out”  
“Thank you”  
“So how did you get him to growl? I’ve never heard him growl”  
“It’s a command, it’s german for protect, obviously I can’t say it right now”  
“He knows german?”  
“Only that one, so people won’t know what I’m saying. I made sure after what happened at Stanford that my dog knew how to protect me”  
“That’s smart”  
“Sorry I didn’t tell you, I want as few people as possible to know”  
“It’s okay, and call me if you need anything” Casey bend over and kissed him.  
“I love you”  
“You too Bartowski”

“I’m terrified”  
“We don’t have to”  
“No, I want to try, I can’t be scared of everything”  
“It’s big enough for Thor, but Ma can watch him”  
“Yeah we should take his harness off and let him take a break”  
“Tomorrow we are taking him to the dog park and letting him run around before we fly home”  
“And give him all the treats, and maybe a bath because he smells like a farm animal”

“Did you pay that man to stop us at the top?”  
“That is a possibility”  
“It’s this a cheesy romantic thing people do in movies?”  
“Sometimes”  
“So what exactly is the point of a blind man on a Ferris wheel?”  
“I thought you would enjoy the lights”  
Chuck looked around “Is there a lot?”  
“Everywhere”  
“They must be mostly colored lights, I see some white lights but colored lights are too dark or my eyes don’t process the colors correctly and they are like a dark grey so I can’t really see them”  
“Shit, I forgot, sorry”  
“It’s still nice”  
“I think this is the part in the cheesy romance movie where we make out until they kick us off the ride”  
“I like that idea better”

When they got off the ride Chuck grabbed Casey’s hand “This week has been really nice, thank you for coming”  
“It’s going to be weird when you start work next week, we have practically been living together or spending most of our time together, but now Monday through Friday I’ll be gone most of the day, I’ll miss you”  
“If you want I can pick you up, or I can wait for you at your house”  
“That would be nice”  
“But I was also thinking, what if we lived together?”  
“My place doesn't have a garage, and your place doesn't have that big of a yard for Thor, and no offense but your kitchen and bathroom are not blind people friendly”  
“I was thinking I could stay at your place until we found something of our own, maybe a place with a pool”  
“Oh I like that idea, and I would absolutely love to live with you Casey” Casey gripped the back of his neck pulling him into a kiss.  
“Hey boys, hope you’re hungry, for something other than each other”  
“Really Ma”  
“I’m stuffed, all we have done today is eat”  
“Well I got us some totchos, a couple Italian sausages with peppers, two ears of corn and this donut cheeseburger and two pieces of sugar cream pie”  
“What the hell is a donut cheeseburger”  
“It’s a donut instead of a bun”  
“Gross”  
“We should all try it”  
“I’m sure you’ll love it Case”  
“I also got Chuck his root beer”  
“I think I’m going to have withdrawals from it when we get back to North Carolina”  
“Let’s sit”  
“How was Thor?”  
“He is passed out under the table”  
“Poor guy”  
“How are you feeling? Was the Ferris wheel as scary as you thought?”  
“It was a bit weird, but seeing all the lights was nice, probably won’t do it again”  
“Here, try this”  
Chuck opened his mouth to accept the bite from Casey.  
Chuck gagged “Nope” he quickly took a drink of his root beer to wash it down “Nope”  
Casey laughed, “I like it”  
“I knew you would”  
“Here is an authentic Indiana corn on the cob, dripping with butter”  
“This is what I have been waiting for, and the totchos, we have already had but I want more”  
“I’m so happy you guys came, thank you so much”  
“It’s been fun, thank you, and you will have to come visit us some time”

\----------------------------

"Welcome home" Casey let Chuck take off his snow boots and coat before pulling him into a hug.  
"Did you get everything moved in?"  
"Yeah, I'll need you to walk through and make sure everything is okay"  
"Well we have two weeks to figure it out"  
"I have a few surprises for you"  
"I hate surprises"  
"I think you will like these" Casey grabbed his hand leading him into their new living room. "I just about said close your eyes, sorry”  
Chuck laughed “I can if that helps”  
“Not at all  
"Sure"  
Casey let go of his hand and a moment later Chuck could see the room light up with small twinkles of light "Casey what is this?"  
"Christmas lights"  
"This is amazing"  
"They go around the living room and I put some around our bedroom too"  
"Are we putting up a tree?"  
"No”  
“Oh” Chuck sighed  
“We will be in Burbank"  
"Oh my god, are you serious?"  
"Yeah, I got the tickets and made plans with Ellie, she cried"  
"Where are you?"  
"Right in front of you"  
Chuck jumped "I hate when you do that"  
"No, you don't"   
"Thank you so much" Chuck grabbed Casey's face so they could kiss "I love you"  
Casey started unbuttoning Chuck's work shirt. “Love you” he kissed along Chuck’s jaw  
"How was your day with Thor? Where is he?"  
"He is passed out on our bed, is that what you want to talk about right now?"  
"I've been worried about him all day"  
"I've sent you multiple texts telling you he is fine, they were just vaccines which he has had before"  
"I walked into the women's bathroom"  
"Almost every Bathroom has braille signs"  
"You're right, but I didn't check because I was so confident"  
"How did you realize it was the wrong one?"  
"A girl screamed"  
"Shit" Casey laughed  
"Can you show me the bedroom lights now?"  
"Gladly" Casey practically dragged him to their room. "Thor your dad is home but we are kicking you out of here"  
Chuck went over to the bed hitting his shin on the bed frame "Damn it”  
“I should have let you do this with your cane to get the feel of it”  
“Guess we are both just too eager” Chuck felt around until he could feel Thor "Hi buddy, did you miss me? I missed you so much!" Thor's response was licking his cheek "How about you go lay on the couch and I'll give you a big treat later"  
"Yeah because I'm getting my big treat now" Casey laughed  
"Gross"  
"He doesn't understand what that means"  
"Still, he is a baby and doesn't need to hear that"  
"You're ridiculous, come on Thor. I'm going to give him a bone, start stripping so I can bone you"  
"Stop” Chuck laughed.

When Casey came back into the room, the overhead light was off and Chuck was laying in the middle of the bed in just his boxers his body illuminated by the white christmas lights strung around the ceiling and weaved through the headboard.  
"Do you like it?"  
"Are they different than the ones in the living room?"  
"Those are snowflake-shaped, these are just regular ones"  
"Can we keep them up forever?"  
"Sure"  
"I used to hate being blind and leading up to it knowing one day my sight would be gone forever, but eventually I learned to be okay with it and sometimes I get upset but at the end of the day, I'm fine with it. But now, I'd give anything to be able to see you, even if it was only for one minute"  
"Trust me, you're not missing anything" Casey took his pants off before crawling over Chuck.  
"Multiple people have told me you are very attractive" he ran his fingers along Casey's jaw.  
"But there are so many better things you could see"  
"Like your dick" he laughed   
"I would think that was included in seeing me"  
"True" Chuck pulled him into a kiss. "I'm happy to be home"  
"Me too"  
"I do hate the cold and snow of North Carolina though"  
"You just want to open the pool"  
"That is a big part of it"  
"Want to go take a bath and act like it's a pool?"  
"I haven't take a bath since I was a child"  
"Adults can take baths too"  
"I'm aware, I was just too scared, we know how easy I get lost in a shower, imagine me in a tub of water"  
Casey laughed "I don't remember the last time I took a bath, but we have a massive tub that will easily hold four people, might as well take advantage"  
"Let's not invite other people though"  
"I'll go get the tub filled up then come back and get you"

"I'm about to do something, don't freak out" Casey moved over a little and pressed a button  
"Holy shit, there are jets?"  
Casey laughed, "Yup"  
"This is nice" Chuck settled in against Casey's chest  
"It is"  
"So do you ever think about the future?"  
"Sometimes"  
"I really don't want to rush things, which is a weird thing to say since we just bought a house together, but do you ever want to get married?"  
"One day I would like to marry you"  
"Me? Are you sure?" Chuck laughed  
Casey poked Chuck's side making him laugh.  
"I know blind people get married, but Devon always talks about that moment he saw Ellie for the first time walking down the aisle and I wish I could experience that"  
"Guess we will have to do something else special"  
"Like an entire suit covered in of braille?"  
"That would be funny"  
"Would you ask Thor to be your best man" Chuck laughed "He already has a bow tie"  
"He would probably be good a ring bearer since he is so good with commands"  
"I still don't know if I want kids"  
"And you don't need to decide that now, we could always just have a house full of dogs"  
"I don't want to ruin your excitement, but it's not recommended to have other dogs in the house with a service dog, it's not impossible, but the other dog would need to have really good training so Thor doesn't pick up bad behavior or doesn't want to work"  
"We could always get a giant orange cat"  
"He would have to have a space name"  
"How about Apollo?"  
"Can we please do that?"  
"We can go to the shelter next year when we get back from Burbank"  
"I like that idea"  
Casey lightly trailed his fingers down Chuck's chest   
Chuck smiled, turning his head to kiss him "Is bathtub sex a thing?"  
"It can be"  
"Seems like it could be dangerous"  
"We don't even need to move much, you're already in my lap"

"Chuck" a small voice yelled out then he felt little arms wrap around his leg  
"Who is that?"  
"It's me Cwara"  
"No way, the Clara I know is tiny, and you aren't tiny"  
"I growed, I big girl now, I even wear panties"  
Chuck laughed bending over to pick up his niece "Wow you have grown, how old are you now?"  
"This many" she held up three fingers.  
"Remember sweety, Uncle Chuck can't see so you have to tell him"  
"Oooooooh, I'm three, you and Uncle Casey sent me a giant al-alp-ka remember?"  
"Now that you say that, I think I remember something like that" he laughed "Hi Ellie"  
"Hi baby brother" She gave him a one-armed hug since he was still holding Clara.  
"Please tell me you have a tree up?"  
"But mommy just said you can't see?"  
"I can see lights, and I like twinkly Christmas lights"  
"But where is Uncle Casey?"  
"He is outside making sure Thor uses the bathroom since we were just on a plane for a very long time, then they will be inside"  
"Mommy said I can't play with Four sometimes"  
"That's true, but he will mostly be off work this week so as long as he doesn't have a vest on, you can play with him, and we even brought some of his toys so you two could play together"  
"Put me down peas"  
Chuck carefully put her down in front of him, only for her to grab his hand "I show you" her little hand tugged at Chuck's hand leading him into the living room, he had his cane in his right hand just in case she accidentally walked him into a wall.  
"Can you see it?"  
"I can, did you help?"   
"Mommy and Daddy did most of it but I put the star on, can you see the star?"  
"I can see it's the biggest and brightest light, but I can't see the shape"  
"I don't want to not see, I like seeing'  
"Clara, you can't just say things like that"  
"Hey Awesome, and it's okay"  
"Sowwy Chuck" she let go of his hand  
"It's okay Clara, I promise, I sometimes get sad that I can't see things, like your cute little face, but It's what path my life went so now I just do my best"  
"Love you" She hugged his leg  
"I love you too" 

“Hey, I know this is a lot to ask but can you two watch Clara? Her baby sitter is sick and I really need to get some last-minute shopping done”  
“Do you trust Casey to do it alone? I need to get some stuff”  
“Um yeah, of course, I trust John”  
“You don’t sound confident”  
“She just has never been alone with him so I’m slightly worried about how she will be”  
“She fell asleep on the couch watching Tangled with him yesterday and she even let him hold Mr. Cuddles, and we all know how attached she is to that stuffed cat”  
"Are you okay with that Casey?"  
"Yeah, I'd love to watch her, I have everyone's number, and I’m trained in CPR and I have field medic training”  
“Thank you so much, John. Chuck I'm going to grab my bag and keys, I'll be right back"  
“Chuck” he jumped a little at the voice suddenly behind him  
Chuck sighed “Seriously?”  
“Don’t forget the no gifts rule”  
“I only plan on getting myself some new clothes, I have a coupon”  
“You’re cute” he lightly kissed Chuck.  
“Love you, see you in a couple hours”  
“Don’t let her worry too much, we will be fine, and bring me back a soft pretzel”  
“Oh that sounds good, will do” he gave Casey another kiss

“So”  
“I should have known this was going to happen”  
“I was just curious why Casey didn’t say he loved you back”  
“He doesn't always say it back, but I know he loves me and I know you know that too”  
“Why doesn’t he say it?”  
“He is weird when it comes to emotions, I really don’t mind. It’s how he shows me he loves me that means more than hearing him say it”  
“Are you the first blind guy he has been with?”  
“I’m the first guy he has been with, and the first blind person, why do you ask?”  
“Just the way he is with you seems like he has been around it”  
“There is a guy who used to be in the Marines with him that was blinded by a blast, but I think the rest he either researched or took cues from being around me I guess”  
“I’m really happy for you Chuck, you deserve it”  
“Thank El”  
“So have you guys talked about getting married or having kids?”  
“Not in much detail, we did agree that if we get married Thor will be up there with us with a bowtie on and we will walk the aisle together since I can’t see him walking up the aisle and I don’t want to trip and as for kids we are both still undecided”  
“I think you would both be excellent parents”  
“Thanks”  
“So did you guys really decide not to get each other gifts?”  
“We just bought a house and some new furniture, so yeah we agreed that that is our gift”  
“How do you think he would feel about matching pajamas?”  
“He would probably hate it but lie and tell you he liked it”   
“So what kind of clothes are you looking for?”  
“I’m thinking I need to get some baby clothes”  
“Wait, what?”  
“Well I think my big sister is pregnant and not telling me”  
“How the hell did you know?”  
“The same way I knew last time, you walk different and when I hugged you I could tell you were wearing a super baggy shirt which isn’t your usual style”  
“I was going to announce it at Christmas, I got Clara a shirt that says, big sister”  
“Well I can’t read, but I’ll act surprised” Chuck laughed 

"Alfred call Casey" Chuck was sitting on the floor knees tucked up to his chest with Thor sitting as close as he could get, nosing at Chuck's face.  
"I promise Clara is fine, we are coloring"  
"Please come get me," he said in a panicked tone.  
"Where are you?"   
"In a fitting room”  
"Keep your breathing slow, is Thor there?"  
"Yeah"  
"Isn't Ellie with you?"  
"Not sure where she went, she didn't answer her phone"  
"I'll be there in ten minutes, stay on the phone with me, do you know what store you are in?"  
"No, can’t breath”  
“Chuck listen to me, I need you to breathe in through your mouth for four seconds then out through your nose for four seconds, listen to me and copy it. Then I need to hang up for a second and see if I can get a hold of Ellie or someone who can watch Clara because I don’t have a carseat”  
“There is one in the garage, it's wrapped, it’s a huge box” each word was said between deep breaths.  
“I’ll call you back when we are in the car. Love you Chuck”  
“Love you” Chuck started crying again.

“John Casey calling”  
“Alfred answer” he was glad his phone understood what he was saying with a shaky breath.  
“Are you okay?”  
“No”  
"I don't understand why you are alone"  
"I told her I'm an adult and don't need her help"  
"Why are you on the verge of a panic attack?"  
"Don't want to say until you're here and I know I'm safe"  
"I'm going as fast as I can and I got ahold of Ellie, she is on her way"  
"No, need you" Chuck's body was shaking as he cried.  
"I'm very close, listen to my breathing again"  
"Okay"  
About a minute later there was a knock on the door "Chuck, are you okay?"  
"No"  
"Can you unlock the door for me?"  
"No, I'm waiting for Casey"  
"I'm your sister, I'll have the employee unlock it"  
"Please don't, he just parked, he is on his way"  
"Chuck I'm worried about you"  
"Please don't open the door, I don't want to have another panic attack"  
"Did you get hurt?"  
"No"  
“Please let me open the door”  
“No” Chuck’s voice was shaking “Please no”  
“I’m going to stay right by the door okay”  
“Don’t be mad at him for opening her carseat”  
“I’m not, I just want you to be okay, I never should have left you”  
“No more talking please”

"Chuck can you unlock the door or do you need the employee to unlock it?"  
"Employee, but don't let anyone see me" Chuck could hear the door slowly opening then closing a moment later.  
"I'm here" he kneeled down in front of Chuck who instantly felt for him and wrapped his arms around Casey and began to sob.  
Casey rubbed his back "Want to talk about it?"  
Chuck shook his head no. "I want to go home"  
"Can I help you get your clothes back on first?"  
"Yeah"   
Casey helped Chuck stand up   
"There is a pair of jeans hanging on the door, I really want those and there is a sweater, this nice lady told me it was a deep blue that I want. Didn't get to try the rest on. But I need to get out of here as fast as possible" Chuck put his shirt on that Casey put in his hand "Ellie are you still out there?" Chuck didn’t really care about the clothes, he was just trying to keep his mind on something else  
"Of course Chuck"  
"If I give you my debit card can you buy these two things for me, I'm going to have Casey take me home"  
"I can do that, just promise me you are okay"  
"Physically yes" Chuck's hands were shaking too bad to button his jeans "Can you please help me Case?"  
Casey cupped Chuck's face "Hey, you're okay, I'm here, Ellie is here, you are fine, we won't let anything happen to you"  
"I know, I'm just scared, so scared"  
Casey gently kissed him "I'm going to button your pants then use my shirt to wipe your face off before we leave the room"  
“Do we need to take Clara with us? I don’t want her to see me”  
“I’m going to keep her with me, you two go home and relax, I’ll bring home dinner”  
“I’d like to cook something if that’s okay, It makes me feel better to cook”  
“I love you, Chuck”  
“I love you Ellie, and I’m so sorry”  
“You don’t need to apologize”

After Chuck handed his card and the clothes he wanted to Ellie after giving her a hug he quickly left the mall

"I know I haven't been in Burbank for a while but I'm pretty sure this isn't the way to Ellie's house"  
"You're right, it's not" the car stopped and he heard Casey roll the window down and a female voice asked what he wanted to order.  
"Two large frostys, a large fry, and a ten-piece spicy chicken nugget"  
The female voice told him the total  
"You're the best" Chuck rubbed his hand on Casey's thigh "But I know you are just bribing me with my favorite things so I will tell you what happened"  
"Maybe a little, but I also know how happy fries dipped in a frosty makes you

Casey drove for a few minutes to find a shaded area to park. "We are going to sit here and eat, and if you want to talk we can"  
"Feed me a chicken nugget first" Chuck smirked.  
Casey laughed "Open up"   
"Yum, so good"   
"Just because you can't see what it looks like when people eat with their mouths open doesn't mean you should do it"  
"You still love me"  
"I guess"   
"So" Chuck felt around the edge of his frosty cup until he found his spoon to take a quick bite "I told Ellie that she could go shopping for Clara's Christmas stuff and I'd be fine looking for clothes because I really needed some new jeans and I was just going to ask an employee to help me find my size and then I found this sweater that felt really nice so I asked if there was anyone around me to tell me the colors and sizes and this nice lady who didn't work there, her name was Edna, she helped me with a few sweaters and shirts then with the pants. I didn't get to try on much. Can I have some fries please?"  
Casey put a few in his hand.  
Chuck closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "That's when I heard his voice. I instantly froze and tried to convince myself it was someone else, but then a girl called into the fitting room and said his name and I sat on the ground and pulled Thor into my lap and panicked. I'm not sure how long it was until I had Alfred call you"  
"Who was it?"  
"Bryce" Chuck whispered.  
Casey growled. "God I wish I was there to punch his stupid ass face"  
"Me too" Chuck ate another chicken nugget. "If he lives here now I'm not going to be able to go out in public without having a panic attack"  
"You’re not going out alone anymore"  
Chuck sighed "I'm going to have to tell Ellie something"  
"Why not the truth"  
"She doesn't know what happened, she thinks I had to leave the frat house because the other guys were being mean and messing with my school work. I've thought about telling her but I was too scared"  
"You still don't have to give her details, just say he was one that bullied you"  
“I didn’t tell you the entire truth”  
“Okay”  
“Not only did Bryce sleep with Jill, and plan the entire embarrassing blow job thing, he did something else”  
“Do you want to tell me?”  
“Yeah, um the thing is I had a small fling with Bryce and once we were kissing and things started to heat up and he said he wasn’t ready to do too much and I agreed because I was a virgin and kind of freaking out, so we decided to keep kissing while we both jacked off” Chuck sighed. “So of course me not being able to see, he actually wasn't doing anything and told our entire frat house that he caught me jacking off with a pair of his dirty boxers. I almost got kicked out for being a pervert”  
“What the fuck” Casey growled  
“I’m sorry I lied”  
“It’s okay, I understand why you didn’t tell me”  
"Are there fries left?"  
"Yes, and you need to eat more of that frosty before it melts everywhere"  
“Thanks for always be here for me"  
"Of course"  
"Just to warn you, Ellie got us all matching Christmas pajamas. I told her you would hate it, but you would wear them anyways to make everyone happy"  
"Why do adults need matching pajamas"  
"Ellie has always done it since we were young, she buys a puffy fabric paint and traces over the pattern so I can feel it"  
"That's actually nice"  
"We should head to the store and get stuff to make dinner"  
"Are you sure you wanna make dinner tonight?"  
"Yeah, I was thinking we could make the chicken and noodles your mom taught me, I think they would like that"  
"Anything else you want to talk about?"  
"No"

"Casey stop"  
"Why?" He kissed up Chuck's neck  
"I'm not having sex with you at my sister's house"  
"We are the only two on this side of the house, and it's late, I'm sure everyone is asleep"  
"But you know I can't be quiet"  
"Should I buy you a ball gag?"  
"Oh my god no, are you into that?"  
"No, I love the sounds you make" Casey nibbled on his earlobe.   
"God you are insane"  
“I was really hoping you could fuck me”  
“What did you just say?”   
Casey laughed pulling Chuck into a kiss “I said” another kiss “I would like” another kiss “you" another kiss "to top me” another kiss  
“Oh”  
“You don’t have to”  
“I want to, I really want to. I’m just scared”  
“Don’t be”  
“How do we do it?”  
“Well you start by getting your fingers nice and lubed up”  
“I didn’t mean that, I know how to have sex, we have done it plenty of times, I meant positions, and I’m worried because I can’t see you”  
“Well you have fingered me a few times, so start there”  
Chuck blushed “Okay, um, yeah, okay, but we have to be quiet”  
“Maybe we should have stayed in a hotel”  
“I really hate hotels”  
“But we both love being loud”  
“Why did you decide that you wanted this now, here?”  
“I guess I’m in the holiday spirit”  
“Is this my Christmas gift?”  
“Your gift was us buying a house and some new furniture and flying here, but it is after midnight, so technically it's Christmas”  
“Right, go lock the door and get the lube”  
“You think you can boss me around now that your top?”  
Chuck laughed “I’m blind and I’ve only been here once, I didn’t want any accidents”  
“It was a joke”

“I’m ready Chuck” Casey moaned pushing down on Chuck’s fingers “I want to ride you”  
“Fuck” Chuck exhailed “Let me lay down first and then you can get in position, less chance of injury”  
Casey laughed, moving out of the way so Chuck could lay down.  
“Don’t laugh, do I need to remind you of the time I fell off the bed, or the multiple times I have smacked or elbowed you”  
“Trust me, I remember”  
“Just don’t let the headboard hit the wall”  
“Do you want to be on top?”  
“That may work better, for the quiet aspect of it” Chuck moved over waiting to feel Casey lay down next to him “Is sex way different when both people can see?”  
“I don’t think it’s much different, I think it’s better with you not being able to see because you touch more”  
“I guess that makes sense” Chuck felt down Casey’s body moving between his spread legs. “I’m kind of nervous”  
“Wanna do something else?”  
“Nope, I’m going to make love to you”   
“It’s cute when you blush”  
“I hate that you can see that”  
“Come here” Casey spread his legs and bent his knees so Chuck could slot himself between them.  
“I’m leaking lube from your accidental over use of it, so you don’t need any more”  
“Sorry”  
Casey laughed, “Not like you could see it”  
Chuck shook his head “So funny, now shut up and let me top you”  
“You talk most of the time I’m fucking you, just thought I’d let you know what it’s like”  
Chuck reached between them lining himself up with Casey’s hole “Ready?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took so long to update, I've been dealing with horrible allergies all month that made me really sick. The next and final chapter should be out by the end of the month.

"I want to show you something"  
"I have bad news, I can't see" Chuck laughed  
"Well saying hey I want you to feel something sounds weird"  
"Is it your dick?"  
"No"  
"Can it be?"  
"Later, I've been working on something for a couple months and it's done"  
"Where is it?"  
"Backyard"  
"But it's cold out there"  
"Come on cry baby"  
"Rude"  
"Just slip on your boots and coat and that ridiculous hat Morgan got you"  
"It's a Jayne hat, how dare you"   
"Whatever you say nerd"  
“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy watching Firefly with me”  
“Just get bundled up, we need to walk Thor anyway”  
“I thought the point of our giant backyard was so we didn’t have to walk him in the snow”  
“We are having dinner at Sarah's new apartment remember?”  
“We can drive”  
“Or we can walk”  
“Fiiiiiiine”  
“I promise to keep you warm, and I’ll text her to have some warm tea ready”  
“Thor, come here, let’s get your coat onf”  
“Does he really know what that means?”  
“Yes, he is smart”  
“He does look really cute in that coat, he probably doesn’t need it, you know since he has his own fur coat”  
“We are from California, we don’t do cold”  
“I’ll put his coat on, you worry about yours”  
“Will you tie my boots?”  
Casey rolled his eyes “How did you survive before you met me?”  
“I was soooo miserable” Chuck laughed   
“You’re ridiculous”  
“But you still love me”  
“Not sure why”  
“Hey” Chuck threw a glove towards where Casey was  
“It was a joke, you know I love your spoiled ass, also you missed” Casey kneeled down in front of him and started tying Chuck’s boots.  
“Since you’re already down there” Chuck wiggled his eyebrows.  
“Tonight, I promise, but for now, we have plans”

“Okay walk this way”  
“I thought by now you would be using more descriptive words”  
He grabbed Chuck’s hand leading him into the backyard.   
“Are you okay? Something seems off?”  
“I’m fine”  
“I think you’re lying”  
“Sit”  
Chuck felt in front of him "A new bench?"  
“Yes”  
“What does it look like?”  
"It's the old swing from your grandparent's house"  
"No way"  
"Your grandparents loved sitting on it and reading almost every day, and you were sitting on it when we first met and I know you said you hated swings so I put some legs on it and re-stained it so it's like new but still holds memories"  
"Technically I was on the ground in front of it" Chuck laughed "but I absolutely love the thought, sit with me”  
“I want you to feel something, it’s on the back of the bench, at the top middle”  
Chuck turned slightly so he could feel along the front of the top piece of the back of the swing.  
“It’s braille, you might have to take your gloves off”  
Chuck pulled the finger pieces off of his pointer finger, running his fingers over the cold metal bump.  
“Casey, does this mean what I think it means?” his voice was shaking.  
Casey sat next to him “I love you Chuck” He grabbed Chuck’s hand placing a small box in it. “You know I’m not the best with words, but I want you to know, you are the most amazing person I have ever met, and you are so special and I would be honored if you would spend the rest of your life with me” He took a deep breath “Chuck, will you marry me?”  
He used his other hand to feel the box sitting in his hand “Of course, yes, yes, yes”  
“I made it myself, I hope you like it”  
Chuck ran his fingers over the bumpy metal “How?”  
“I took some blacksmith lessons, told the guy I was wanting to make a ring for my blind boyfriend so he suggested we hammered it so it’s not smooth, but it still looks nice”  
“It’s amazing, can you put it on me?” Chuck quickly pulled off his left glove  
“Of course” he took the box from Chuck's hands "He helped me with the braille sign too  
“Do you think the guy can help me make one for you?”   
“I’m sure he can” Casey took the ring out of the box, sliding it on to Chuck’s finger.   
“I love you so much” Chuck leaned forward kissing him. “I’m glad I didn’t burn this swing like I wanted to, but now that I said yes, can we put John loves Chuck under the will you marry me part, or maybe Mr and Mr whatever we decide for a last name and our wedding date”  
“Sounds like an awesome plan”  
“Who would have thought almost three years ago me yelling and cussing at this swing would turn into the most romantic proposal?” Chuck grabbed Casey’s face “I love you so much, and I’m so lucky to get to spend my life with you” he gave him a quick kiss “I want to keep kissing you but I don’t want to freeze together”  
“It’s not cold enough for that”  
“Oh shit, I need to call Ellie and tell her”  
“How about we wait until we get to Sarah’s where it’s warm”  
“How about you drive me in that nice car you are so in love with and I can call her in the warmth of the car on the way there”

When they walked into Sarah’s apartment there was a cake with a few lit candles and a few gifts sitting behind it and a ton of balloons floating around.  
“Surprise” a few people yelled.  
“What the hell is this?”  
“Happy 40th old man” Chuck squeezed his arm “How does it look? I helped make the cake, I’ve never made a cake before, it was super messy but it was fun, I hope you like it”  
“It looks good, it’s very pink  
“Wait what?”  
“I’m kidding Chuck, thank you” Casey kissed his cheek.  
“I don’t want to take the spotlight away from the birthday boy, but obviously when I planned this little party I had no idea that Casey had plans of his own” Chuck held up his left hand, “I said yes”   
“Oh my god yay” Lindsey grabbed his hand to look closer at the ring  
“He made it, it’s he amazing?”  
“Congratulations both of you”  
They spent about five minutes telling everyone the story and showing off the ring.

“Erica?”  
“Yes, it’s me”  
“How are you doing?”  
“Not too bad”  
“I’d be perfectly okay if you said no, but I was wondering if I sat on the couch next to you if I could hold Bennet?”  
“Of course you can” She patted the cushion next to her “Take a seat”  
“Just so you know I’m really nervous, I’ve heald my two nieces but they were bigger when I met them so I’ve never held a baby this small”  
“You will be fine, I’m going to but his stomach on your chest so his head will be on your shoulder and you put a hand on his back. And I’ll put a spit up rag on your shoulder in case he spits up”  
Chuck got comfortable on the couch “okay, I’m ready”  
She carefully placed the baby on Chuck just like she said.  
“Oh wow, he is heavier than I thought” he rubbed the babies back “Or was that rude to say?”  
Erica laughed, “No, not rude, he is almost ten pounds, he was eight when he was born then most babies lose some weight then gain it back”  
“And he is about a month old now right?”  
“Yeah last week was one month”  
“Ten pounds isn’t a lot I guess I just thought babies were way smaller”  
“He is about the average if there is such a thing”  
“Can I ask about James?”  
“Of course”  
“Can Casey hear us?”  
“No, he is on the patio smoking a cigar with some of the guys”  
“Is it hard having a baby while James is gone?”  
“It’s really hard, I am lucky because there is a group of military moms I can talk to at any time, and my mom has been staying with me”  
“Have you been able to video with him so he could see Benny?”  
“Yeah, he was on video during the entire birth, and we get to video chat at least once a week, they are saying he will be home in less than a month”  
“I can’t imagine what that’s like, are you both going to retire or change potions or whatever now that he is here?”  
“Once he is eight weeks I’ll be going back to work on the base part-time, and James is talking about retiring and working at his dad mechanic shop with Casey”  
“I’m sure they would both be happy working together again” Chuck was still rubbing the babies back "Casey won't admit just how much he misses him, he doesn't talk about Marine stuff very much anymore, but I can tell"  
"He's been through a lot so it's understandable"  
“Does he have hair? Can I feel?” Chuck wanted to change the subject just in case Casey came back inside.  
“He has a lot of hair, it’s black and really soft”  
Chuck used his other hand to feel his head “Oh wow” Bennet started to cry “Oh crap what did it do?”  
“It’s okay, he may just want a bottle, can you rub his back and rock side to side a little bit while I make the bottle?”  
“I’ll do my best”

“Lookin good Bartowski"  
"You scared me, I could have dropped him"  
"I wouldn't let you drop him" Casey patted the baby’s back “Hey Benny”  
"Want to hold him?”  
“Erica is walking over now with the bottle, she said something about you feeding him”  
“Me? I don’t think that's a good idea”  
“You don’t have to, just thought I'd offer”  
“I really don’t feel comfortable doing it”  
“I’ll do it” Casey stated.  
“Okay, how do I hand him to you?”  
“I’ll grab him” Casey picked him up off of Chuck “Are you, hungry little man?”   
“Erica please tell me that it’s as cute as I think it is, and Benny looks super small in Casey’s giant arms”  
“It’s really cute and he does look very small"  
“See Bartowski, the perks of having all these females in our lives is we get to play with the kids then give them back”  
“That's a good point”  
“So do you have any ideas for the wedding?”  
“I’m thinking the people here now plus my sister, brother-in-law and my two neices, and my best friend Morgan. Keep it small and not super fancy”  
“You gonna wear your dress blues Casey?”  
“Oh hell no” Casey laughed “I’m done with uniforms for the rest of my life”  
“Boo” Chuck laughed “I wouldn’t mind you wearing them”  
“Gross, save that for the honeymoon” Sarah laughed. “Lookin good with that baby cousin”  
“But I’ll be returning him after his belly is nice and full”  
“Aww come on Johnny, you don’t wanna change a diaper?”  
“Abso-fucking-lutly not”   
“I’m sure if and that's a big if, we have kids, we will probably adopt a kid who is not in diapers and can walk”  
“But right now we are going to focus on getting hitched”  
“Any dates picked? Themes?” Erica asked  
“Themes? Weddings have themes?”  
“Our wedding is not going to have a theme”  
“Well just because I can’t see doesn't mean it can’t look nice for other people, and I want a ton of fresh flowers, I really love flowers. I’d love some gardenias and maybe some jasmine. I don’t remember if peonies smell good but I like how big they are. Not sure what colors any of them are though”  
“Don’t worry about that, you know I can help with the flowers. I miss our garden we planted between the two old houses”  
Casey continued to feed and burp the baby while acting like he was paying attention to all the wedding talk between Chuck, Sarah, Erica and Lindsey.

“Tonight was fun, thanks Chuck”  
“I’m so glad you were surprised”  
Casey pulled Chuck into his arms peppering his neck with kisses.  
“Want to head to the bedroom for the rest of the nights birthday activities”  
“What do you have in mind Bartowski?” he nibbled on his earlobe.  
“Mmm, um, first I want you to always call me Bartwoski no matter what we do with our last names after the wedding”  
“Deal” he growled licking along Chuck jaw.  
“Now it's time for your birthday blow job or whatever you want since it's your birthday"  
“I like that idea” he grabbed Chuck’s hand, pulling him towards their room.

“Casey, are you home? Please be home" he slid off Thor's harness  
“Yeah but why are you?”  
“We need to talk”  
“Is everything okay?”  
“I’m not sure, I’m really conflicted and really needed to talk to you so I ask Lindsey to cover the class for the rest of the day”  
“Come sit on the couch with me”

Casey grabbed Chuck’s shaking hands “Hey, talk to me”  
“I know the timing is horrible since we are getting married in less than a month but I got a call today from Marcus”  
“From the blind school?”  
“Yeah” Chuck started crying. “He um, he said there was a boy that was dropped off for a braille class today and they found a note in his backpack saying that his mom would not be picking him up because she could no longer take care of him and all the information she gave them was fake” He squeezed Casey’s hand “He is only five, I guess a few months ago he was in a car accident and went blind, I don’t know any more details but they want to put him in foster care, but Marcus talked to the child protection service agent and told her that it would be a bad idea to put a blind kid with a family who doesnt have experiance with a kid who is blind”  
“Are you wanting to take him in?”  
“That’s where I’m conflicted, I really want to help him, but it’s a big decision, and since we aren't registered as foster parents we would have to have child protective services come interview us, do a home evaluation and a bunch of other stuff but if we say yes now, then they will come by today and check the house and we can keep him here for now and see how things play out”  
“School is out for the summer in a week, I say we do it”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I am, if you are”  
“His name is Nicholas Alexander but he goes by Nico, the last name they gave wasn’t real. Not sure what they do in that situation"  
"Do you want to call Marcus and I'll call Sarah and have her come to the store with me so we can get some stuff for him, and we need to call a lawyer"  
“Do you know any lawyers?”  
“I’ll make a few calls”  
“Are we really doing this?”  
“I’m all for it”  
“I love you John”  
“Love you Chuck” he gave him a quick kiss 

“So you have been granted emergency temporary custody, and I will be doing surprise visits all week and by next week we may have more information on what the next step is”  
“Thank you so much Cindy”  
“Thank you both so much, I hate to say this but it’s rare to find people so willing to help kids with a disability”  
“Well it’s easy when you know what the kid is dealing with, well not exactly because I was a teenager when my parents left, thankfully I had an amazing sister and tons of resources to help me so if I can help someone else I’m going to do my best”  
“You have my number, call me if you need anything, I’ll see you soon” She kneeled down “These two will take great care of you, Nicholas, if you need anything at all, let them know”  
“Puppy”  
“Thor is sleeping on the couch which is five big steps behind you” Casey walked closer to him in case he needed help “Want to hold my hand and we can count to five together?”  
He held his hand up “I can count to five”  
Casey grabbed his hand “Can you teach me?”  
“One” he took a step “Two” step “Four” step “Oh no” he pouted  
“It’s okay, let’s take a step back and try again”  
“This is tree” step “Nooooow four” he laughed “and FIVE” he quickly let go of Casey’s hand reaching out in front of him until he felt the couch then moved his hands around until he fet for Thor. “Hi puppy Ta-ta-tore, I Nico”  
“Oh my gosh that was adorible” Chuck couldn't stop smiling “So Nico, what do you like to eat for dinner?”  
“Ice cream?”  
“Well I’m sure we can have that after, but we need actual food first”  
“Dino nuggets with kets-up”  
“The one thing I didn’t buy was dino shaped nuggets, I can run and get some. What kind of Ice cream do you like Nico?” Casey ruffled his blonde hair  
“All ice cream is yummy”  
“Good to know, I’ll be right back”  
“Please don’t leave” he scrambled to grab Casey’s leg as quick as he could.   
“Okay, it’s okay” Casey picked him up “How about you come with me”  
“Can Chuck come too?” he pouted  
“Of course I can, and Thor can come too but when he has his vest on and is working at the store, you can’t play with him”  
“Can I get a seeing dog?”  
“We are going to get you a cane tomorrow and start working with that, and then when you turn 16 you can get a seeing-eye dog”  
“Maybe we can let you pick out a few toys while we are there too,” Casey added.  
“I want blocks”  
“Let’s get your shoes back on and go test out your new car seat, and I bet if you ask nicely Thor will sit next to you in the car”

“Is shopping with a kid always that crazy and expensive?”  
Casey laughed “Probably”  
“Is he still asleep?”  
“Yeah I laid him down in the bed”  
“Will he be fine? I’m worried”  
“There are rails on the bed so he can’t roll off and I have the baby monitor so I can watch him while we make dinner”  
“What if I’m home alone with him? You can’t be here all day every day”  
“There is sound, so you will be able to hear him cry or call out for one of us”  
“He is so great and so happy and doesnt even seem to be bothered at all by being blind, I just don’t understand how his mom could just leave like that”  
“I don’t understand it either, but we will do our best to make his time here as good as possible”  
“Should we get him an outfit for the wedding, just in case he is still here?” Chuck pulled a box of noodles from the cabinet “Wait, what are we going to do about our honeymoon?”  
“We have a month to figure that out, let’s just focus on the days one at a time and making sure we teach Nico as much as we can so he can live his best life”  
“I love you so much”  
“Come here” Casey pulled him into his arms, kissing him slowly.  
“Case? Hello?” Casey smiled and kissed Chuck again “At least he can never catch us making out in the kitchen. I’ll go walk him around his room and his bathroom while you make the mac and cheese” He started to walk away “And Bartowski, I love you too”

"Alfred call Casey on speaker"  
"Calling John Casey"  
"Is everything okay?"  
"No, I'm freaking out and that's causing Nico to freak out and that is making stuff worse"  
"Tell me what happened"  
"He woke up from his nap and he had an accident while walking to the bathroom then slipped on the wet floor, there is pee everywhere and I tried to hose him down in the shower and now we are both soaked and I'm sure the bathroom is soaked. Then Thor came in here to see what was going on and he is soaked. So now all three of us are just sitting here in the tub"  
"Case come home" Nico whined "I need you"  
"I'm so sorry" Chuck's voice cracked.  
"I'll be home in less than ten minutes"  
Chuck got out of the tub and grabbed two big towles from the small closet right outside the bathroom door, he felt horrible for having no idea what to do or say to Nico, so he just wrapped him in the towels and held him until Casey got home.

"Wow you two are a mess"  
"Don't remind me" Chuck really didn't want Nico to hear him cry "Start with him, get him cleaned and warmed up"   
Casey picked up Nico, keeping his wrapped up "I'll take him into the other bathroom then come back and help you"  
"I'll be fine, I'll be out in a few minutes and start lunch"  
"Yell if you need anything"  
"Yeah sure"  
Chuck didn’t want to admit just how long it took him to strip off his wet clothes, and he would never tell Casey that he slipped on a wet spot and almost fell or that he spent most of it crying. Having Nico around has been difficult, but he has loved it, and he loves the bond between the boy and his finace and he plans on talking to Casey soon about the idea of adopting him.

"Where are you guys?" Chuck called out as he came out of the bathroom  
"We are sitting on the living room floor playing with blocks"  
Chuck made his way over to them "Do you have to head back to work?"  
"No"  
"What sounds good for lunch?"  
"Case ordered pizza and breadsticks mmmm"  
"Okay, well I'm going to um, I'll be in the office if anyone needs me"  
"You can play blocks with us"  
"Maybe later" Chuck sighed "I just need to work on something"

There was a knock at his office door "Pizzas here" Casey opened the door. "What are you working on?"  
"I was going to work on my vows but I've just been sitting here"  
"Want to talk about it?"  
Chuck started crying again "I fucked up, I could have hurt us both really bad and they would have taken him away from us"  
"I think you just started to panic and overthink and that's what made everything go wrong"  
"Or the fact that I'm blind"  
“Want to see if Lindsey or Sarah or ever Erica can come over and help tomorrow? Then when I get home we can give him a bath together and you can learn?”  
“No, I never want to be around water with him”  
“Chuck stop”  
“No” he didn't mean to yell “I can’t be a parent, he can’t be trusted to be left alone with me, but I can’t ask you to quit your job and stay home to babysit both of us”  
“Do I have to go live someone else?” Chuck heard a small voice "Are you guys leaving me like my mommy did?"  
“Fuck” Chuck ran a hand over his face   
"No, absolutely not Nico" Casey picked him up "We would never do that"  
“Chuck has to put money in the swear jar”  
Chuck laughed, “You’re right, I do” He walked towards them reaching out to grab his arm “Hey Nico, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’m just scared from what happened earlier and I said something I shouldn’t have. I want you to stay here, I really do” Chuck held out his arms “Can I have a hug?”  
“Okay” he reached out until he felt Chuck and wrapped his arms around him, “Can I have pizza now?”  
“Only if you like anchovies" Casey teased  
"What is that?"  
"Little fish"  
"On pizza??"  
Chuck laughed "Yes, and Case likes it, but I bet he ordered pepperoni for you and one with olives for me"  
"I like olives"  
"Let's go get some"

“I love pizza”  
“I can tell by all the sauce on your face” Casey laughed “But Chuck also has sauce on his face, so don’t worry”  
Chuck reached for a napkin but knocked over his drink “Are you serious?”  
Casey and Nico laughed   
“I’ll get the towels, just sit there”  
“There are no fucking towels because I used them all in the bathroom”  
“Swear jar” Nico whispered  
“I’m allowed to say bad words, I’m an adult and I’m having a very bad day”  
“Chuck stop with the attitude, he is a child and you know owe twenty bucks to the jar” Casey picked up Nico’s plate and cup “I'm going to move you into the living room little man. You can eat at the coffee table and I’ll put on some cartoons” he grabbed Casey’s shirt and followed him into the other room.

“Chuck what the hell was that?”  
“Apparently I put my water back in the wrong spot”  
"You know that's not what I was talking about" Casey sighed “It was your idea to bring Nicholas home, it’s only been two weeks and you are already losing your mind, this isn’t going to work out if you aren’t on bored”  
“What are we supposed to do, abandom him like his mom did?”  
“No, there are other options”  
“But you two have a bond”  
“We do but maybe I can find someone to adopt him and I can visit, but I need to do what is best for you”  
“This isn’t who I am, I’m not an asshole” Chuck just sat there as Casey patted his lap with a towel.  
“I know you're not”  
“It was really freaking scared okay, what if he cut his head open when he fell and I wouldn’t know. I can't stop playing all the senerios in my head”  
“Stop, nothing happened”  
“I can’t be left alone with him”  
“Erica and Bennet will be here tomorrow, I already texted her. Once we get in a routine and you get used to doing stuff it will all be okay”  
“Should I go apologize to him?”  
“Not right now, go put some dry clothes on and find something to calm down”  
“I’m sorry” he grabbed Casey’s arm “I am so sorry”  
Casey kissed his forehead "I'm going to go eat lunch with him in the living, do what you need to do"

“Hey buddy”  
“Hi Chuck”  
“I’m sorry I was so angry today, and I’m so sorry about the bath”  
“It’s okay, sometimes being blind is hard”  
"You're such a smart kid"  
"Cindy told me that, but she said I stong and can be brave and I can do anything”  
“That’s very correct”  
Casey came into the room "Am I interrupting?"  
"No, it's fine"  
“I just got a call about a gift that came today and I went outside and there was a box on the porch for one Nicholas Alexander”  
“That’s me”  
“I already cut the tape but I didn’t peak” He sat the box on the bed in front of him. Nico ran his hands along the box feeling for the opening, he reached inside pulling out a card “What is this?”  
“It’s a card” Casey sat next to Chuck at the foot of the bed “Feel the front, it looks like fuzzy dogs, then I’ll read it”  
“It is fuzzy” he smiled then held the card towards Casey  
“It says, 'Hi Nicholas, I’m sorry I don’t know braille, so hopefully John can read it to you"  
Nico giggled “John”  
“That’s my name you goofball” Casey tickled him.  
“I like Case better”  
“Me too” Chuck added.  
“Can I get back to the letter now?”  
“Yes John” Nico giggled again.  
Casey shook his head and laughed. “Anyways….’I did learn how to make your name in braille though, I hope you can read it, it’s crocheted it what is called a bobble stitch on the edge of the small blanket also known as a lovey, it’s a small green blanket with a black and white cow head and arms in the center. The 2nd thing is a blanket I also crocheted, I used as many types of yarn I could find and every few rows is a different stitch, it looks really wild but it feels really cool. I hope you enjoy it. Love Emma’”  
“Your mom?”  
“That’s correct”  
Nico reached into the box pulling out the cow lovey “Soft, mooooo” he rubbed it on his face, and it made a rattle, startling him just a little bit but then started shaking it like crazy with a big smile on his face.  
“Can I feel it?”  
He handed Chuck the cow, Chuck felt around until he felt the bumps on the edge “Want me to show you your name? It’s a little harder to tell because of the spacing and it's way bigger than braille but I think you will still be able to tell” He guided Nico’s fingers along the raised yarn.  
“These four dots are the N, then you have these two diagonal ones for the I, the C is these two dots and then you have these three that are like a sideways triangle for the O. It will be easier to read on paper, but this is really close”  
“That’s soooooo cool” he reached inside the box for the blanket “Heavy” he grunted.  
“I’ll help” Chuck grabbed the corner of the blanket pulling it out, he grabbed the box with the other hand moving it to the floor so he could lay the blanket out on the bed.  
Nico leaned forward running both hands along the blanket “Chuck feel”   
“Maybe tomorrow we can make her something and mail it to her”  
“I want to paint, I love paint”  
“Sounds good little man, I’ll get some supplies on my lunch break and after dinner tomorrow we can make something”  
“I want to sleep with my new stuff”  
“Of course” Casey picked up the new blanket then pulled off the blanket that he was under and switched them. “How is that?”  
“Can Th-th-th-or sleep with me again?”  
“You are getting good saying his name” Chuck praised him “Thor, come here, it’s bedtime”  
A moment later Thor jumped up on the bed curling up close to Nico.  
Nico pet him a few times before laying back “Cow” he reached a hand out and Casey handed it to him. “Goodnight”  
“Goodnight buddy”   
“See you in the morning little man” Casey kissed his forehead.

“Want to take a relaxing bath with your almost husband?”  
“Do you think water is the best thing to take away my shitty day?”  
“We can sit on the couch and watch a movie, or we can sit out on the patio and read, whatever you want”  
“Can we sit out back on the bench?”  
“Yeah, want me to light a fire?”  
“I completely forgot you built that firepit”  
“Here, hold the baby monitor, I’ll go get it ready. Want to grab us some drinks and maybe a snack?”  
“That I can do”

“Please don’t let me fall in the fire, I can see a glow but can’t tell exactly where it is”  
“You’ll be fine” Casey grabbing the bowl of popcorn from his hand “I moved the small table over here from the front porch so we can use it” he sat the popcorn on it then grabbed the two beers from Chuck’s other hand.  
Chuck pulled the baby monitor screen from his pocket “Here is this, they are both snoring already”  
“He is such a good kid”  
“Yeah, I still feel like shit about how I was earlier”  
“Let’s not talk about it anymore”  
“It was so nice of your mom to make him that stuff”  
“She said she is happy to finally have a grandkid, even if it is just temporary”  
Chuck settled down on the bench as close to Casey as he could get, resting his head on his shoulder.   
“Popcorn bowl is in my lap”  
“I’d rather be in your lap” Chuck mumbled  
“Then why aren’t you?”  
“Because we are outside”  
“No one can see us” Casey sat the popcorn back on the table.  
“Don’t let me fall” Chuck carefully felt around until he was straddling Casey’s lap, his knees on the bench, very thankful for the cushion they put on it.  
“It’s been awhile” Casey ran his hand up the back of Chuck’s shirt, his skin warm from the fire.   
“Your hand is going the wrong way” Chuck teased, cupping Casey’s face in his hands. “I’ve missed your touch” he pressed his lips to Casey’s keeping it slow even though it would be so easy to rip their clothes off and spend hours seeing how much they can make each other come, but right now he wants to keep is slow and cherish every touch.  
Casey’s fingers trail back down Chuck’s spine, his fingers dipping below the waistband of his pajama pants, realizing he had no boxers on.  
Chuck rocked his hips slowly, deepening the kiss, his hands trailing down Casey’s neck to his muscular chest, Casey lets out a deep moan as Chuck’s fingers played with his nipples.  
“Lube?”  
“Pocket”  
“So this was planned?”  
“Slightly” Chuck laughed pulling the bottle out of his pocket holding it out for Casey to grab.  
Casey poured some lube on the first two fingers of his right hand.  
Chuck moved as close to Casey as he could, both their cocks quickly filling as they press together.  
Chuck moaned loudly as one of Casey’s fingers pressed into him.  
“Just cause they can’t see us, doesn’t mean they can’t hear us”  
Chuck kissed him, missing a few time before finally finding his lips. Chuck felt around until he found the small button holding the flap closed on his pajama pants reaching in to pull out Casey’s cock. Casey picked the lube back up, snapping the lid open with his thumb “Hand”  
Chuck held his hand up so Casey could pour a little of the lube into his palm. Casey tossed the bottle down next to them. “Jack yourself off too”  
Chuck slowed his strokes down as he tried to undo the button on his pants “I’m using my left hand and I can’t concentrate with your fingers buried in my ass” he laughed.  
Casey pulled making the button popped off “I’ll buy you a new pair”  
Chuck adjusted until their cocks were lined up, their lengths were similar but Chuck was slightly longer where Casey was thicker. His long fingers easily wrapped around them.   
“Don’t laugh when I come in five seconds” Chuck joked.  
Casey ran his hand up Chuck’s neck gripping his curls and pulling him into a kiss pushing in another finger just barely able to get the right angle but he manages to hit Chuck’s prostate.  
Chuck’s legs tightened around Casey, body shaking as he came. “I hate you” he teased nipping at Casey’s bottom lip. “Can I make you come like this?”  
“Probably, but I really want to be inside you”  
“Out here?”  
“Stand up then bend over and put your hands on the bench”  
Chuck wiped his hand on his pants then tucked himself away before carefully climbing off his fiance's lap. When he was bent over like Casey told him. Casey pulled his pants down just past his ass, gripping the base of his cock he lined himself up with Chuck, he pushed in just a little bit then pulled out, repeating that a few time before pushing all the way.   
“So good” he growled picking up his pace he ran a hand up Chuck’s chest “Stand up” Chuck arched his back leaning his head back and to the side so he could kiss him, both moaning as the tightness this position made. “John” Chuck moaned, his dick attempting to get hard again. Casey’s hands still tight on his hips as he slammed into him.  
“I love you” he whispered his movements becoming erratic as the muscles in his stomach tighten.  
“Yes John, fuck yes, I love you too”  
Casey held Chuck there until he caught his breath.  
“We should get cleaned up and come back out here to enjoy the fire”  
Chuck pulled up his pants turning to kiss Casey "That was awesome, we should do that again”

"Are you ready buddy?"  
"I'm nervous, but ready"  
"Nicholas looks so adorable in his little suit, it's crazy that you have a kid and you're getting married."  
"I never thought this would be my life”  
“So when do you find out if Nico is yours for good?”  
“It can take as little as two months or as long as a year, it all depends”  
“Me and Alex are talking about having kids, but I’m not sure”  
“It’s an adventure, but it’s worth it at the end of the day. You should totally do it but I also don't know much about the diapers and late night feedings” Chuck heard some music start playing  
“So are you ready to become Mr. Casey?”  
“It’s Casey-Bartwoski”  
“Well it’s time for me to walk you out to your man, who looks hot, well from a straight guys persepctive"  
"Thanks Morgan"  
"Don't worry, you look hot too" Morgan looped his arm around Chuck leading him out of the room.

“Tell me what he looks like in as much detail as possible”  
“Uh his pants are navy blue, he is wearing a very tight white long sleeve button up, his muscles look like they are about to explode out of it. His vest is also navy like his pants and he is wearing a grey tie”  
“And what color am I wearing again?”  
“I think it's called burgundy or maybe maroon, it’s a dark red”  
“I have no idea why I asked, I have no idea what any of those colors are except grey”  
“The girls say it looks fine so just go with it”  
“Okay” Chuck took a deep breath “I’m ready”  
“You can open your eyes now John”  
Casey opened his eyes “You look amazing Bartwoski”  
“I heard you look hot” he grinned.  
“I want you to feel my tie”  
Chuck reached forward running his hands along Casey’s broad chest, fingers slowly feeling the smooth fabric of the vest until he found the tie. “How did you put braille on your tie?”  
“It’s threads like on the bear I got you”  
“I love you too” he couldn’t stop smiling as he moved his fingers down the tie “Oh my god that is inappropriate” Chuck laughed  
“Guess it’s a good thing most people we know can't read braille, but that’s the part that will be hidden under my vest”   
“Can I kiss you?”  
“It’s our wedding, we can do whatever the hell we want” Casey leaned forward and kissed him “Ready to walk down the aisle?”  
“I’m so ready, but please don’t let me trip or run into anything or miss when we kiss”  
Casey laughed “Come on Bartowski” he grabbed his hand using his other to open the door as the music changed.  
They walked down the aisle hand in hand.  
"Right here" Casey whispered.  
Chuck stopped turning to face Casey who grabbed both his hands.  
When Casey way saying his vows it was the first time Chuck had ever heard his voice crack, he didn't know Casey could even cry. He ran his hand up Casey's arm to cup his face and make sure he didn't smack him. He used his thumb to rub Casey's cheek, feeling the small wet line the tear had left. Chuck couldn't stop himself, he leaned forward, pressing his lips to his cutting him off mid-sentence.  
He heard everyone laugh "Sorry" he whispered.   
"Never be sorry for kissing me"   
"I just really needed to kiss you"  
"Can we skip to the end? I mean we already know how much we love each other"  
"I think we should since I completely blanked on my vows" Chuck laughed  
The officiant shrugged "Do you Charles Irving Bartowski take John Casey to be your lawfully wedded husband?"  
"I do" They had kept their rings on so per Chuck's request.  
"I do too" Casey grabbed Chuck kissing him with more passion than ever.  
"I now pronounce you Mr. and Mr. Casey-Bartowski"  
Casey picked him up bridal style and carried him down the aisle   
"What the hell" Chuck laughed  
"We are escaping before anyone wants to talk"  
"To where?"  
"My dressing room with a do not disturb sign on the door"  
"What about our reception?"  
"You did end the wedding earlier than scheduled, so we have some time"  
"Can I walk?"  
"Faster this way" he teases, pinching Chuck's ass.  
"You're ridiculous and I love it"

"He will be fine"  
"How did you know?"  
"You nibble on your bottom when you're nervous. We will only be gone for the night, James and Erica will take good care of him"  
"I am glad James is back, you are less tense"  
Casey rubbed his hand up and down Chuck's thigh "let's talk about something else, like how we are spending our night"  
"I'm starving, I didn't have enough time to eat anything besides that one bite of cake you shoved in my face"  
"You started it"  
"I'm blind"  
"nice excuse" Casey squeezed his thigh "So we ordered room service while we shower, then spend the entire night naked"  
"How far is the hotel?"  
"Another five or so minutes"  
"Is there traffic?"  
"No, it's close to midnight"  
Chuck reached over, running his hand up Chuck's thigh "Can I suck you off?" he cupped the front of Casey's pants   
"God yes"  
"Just promise me you won't crash" Chuck was thankful for the bench seat in Casey's old car as he leaned over to make quick work of getting Casey's pants unbuttoned and moved out of the way the best he could.   
Casey threads his fingers through Chuck's curls as Chuck takes his growing erection into his mouth.  
Chuck hums around the feeling of him getting harder against his tongue.   
His hand on the base stroking up to meet his mouth.  
Even though they have been together for over three years, Chuck still struggled sometimes with blow jobs, so this was a rare treat. Casey reassures him that he is okay by gently rubbing the back of his head and whispering encouragements. "Just like that, so good Chuck"  
They only thing keeping Casey from coming is the fact that he was driving and this was a horrible idea but he wasn't going to say no to his groom.

Casey pulled into the farthest parking spot from the front doors of the hotel. "I'm close" Casey moaned "Wanna finish this up in our room?"  
Chuck pulled off just long enough to say "No" before taking him back into his mouth.  
Casey tilted his head back closing his eyes, his fingers still tangled his Chuck's hair "I'm gonna come Chuck" he lightly tugged, usually Chuck stops and jacks him off until he comes but today he is not stopping and Casey couldn't stop himself.   
Chuck sat up scooting over so he was now sitting next to him "Can I kiss you?"  
Casey's answer was to pull him into a sloppy kiss, not minding the taste of himself in Chuck's mouth.  
"Let's get that ass up to our room so I can take care of you"

Casey came running when he heard Chuck scream out in pain. When he got to the entryway of their house Chuck was laying on his back with his hands clutched to his chest, there was blood on the floor and all over Chuck's hands and shirt  
"What happened?"  
"I tripped" Chuck managed through the sobs "keys in hand"  
"Fuck, okay don't move, first I need you to try and calm down, your elevated heartbeat will make you bleed faster. I'm going to call for an ambulance. I don't want to risk moving you and making anything worse. I'm going to get some towels. Focus on your breathing"  
“But….but the….the interview is tomorrow”  
“Don’t worry about it, just slow your breathing”  
“What's going on? Why did you scream?”  
“Stay back Nicholas, Chuck fell and his hand is bleeding" Casey looked over to see Nico stand there holding his tablet that he named Ryder after the kid on Paw Patrol "Can you use your tablet to call 911 like we talked about while I go get towels?”  
“Okay”   
“Thor, go to Nico” Casey ran to get to towels and the first aid kit while Nico sat on the floor with his tablet, Thor stuck close to his side. “Ryder, call 911 on speaker”  
“I’m so proud of you Nico, you’re doing a good job, you don’t need to cry, I’m okay”  
“Case said you are bleeding”  
“911 what is your emergency?”  
“Hi. I’m Nicolas, I'm five, my foster dad is bleeding and my other foster dad went to get towels so I’m calling for an am...amba….amda….uh...a woo-woo”  
“I’m here, this is Colonel John Casey, my husband fell and has a penetrating wound to his hand, don’t want to give to much detail with the kid here, they are both blind. I am trained in combat medic so I’m dressing the wound but leaving the item in to avoid any more damage”  
"Help is on the way, what is his name?”  
“Charles Casey-Bartowski”  
“What hand is it?”  
“Left, looks mostly center"  
“Does he still have feeling and movement”  
Chuck tried to wiggle his fingers and screamed out in pain making Nico cry, Thor licked his face to try and keep him calm “Feeling yes, movement yes but painful”  
“Okay try to keep his hand as stable as possible so he doesn’t cause nerve damage”  
“I want to hug Chuck”  
“Not right now buddy, but I promise when I get all better I will give you the biggest hug ever”  
“I’m sad”  
“It’s okay to be sad, I’m sure Casey is sad too” Chuck winced in pain “Accidents happen”  
“Was it because you can't see?”  
"Partially"  
"I don't want it to happen to me" Nico was crying.  
"It's okay" Casey scooped him up in his arms. "The ambulance is here, we are going to get in my truck and follow the ambulance to the hospital where you will be able to give Chuck all the hugs"

Chuck woke up a bit groggy "Hello?"  
"We are right here, Nico is asleep on the floor with Thor, they brought in a few blankets for them"  
“He is on the floor?”  
“It was his idea”  
"My hand hurts"  
"You had surgery, there is a lot of stitches but they think it missed all the important stuff. There is minor nerve damage but they don't think it will impact you though"  
"My vision is my hands"  
"Your fingers are fine, but they had to cut your ring off because of the swelling"  
Chuck started crying.  
"I already sent a text to the guy, he's going to help me weld it back together so you can wear on a necklace since it has so much meaning and I'll make you a new one"  
"I was so stressed and overthinking everything for our interview tomorrow and I wasn't paying attention and fell and now they are going to think I can't be a dad"  
"That's ridiculous, parents get hurt and have kids"  
"But"  
"Stop, you need to stay calm, everything is fine. Nico has been waiting for a hug for hours, so when you calm down I'll lay him in bed with you"  
"Can you hug me first?"  
“I’m going to raise the head of your bed, let me know if you need me to stop”  
Chuck felt the mattress dip under Casey’s weight as he sat with him on the bed.  
“I’m really sad about my ring, don’t laugh at me for crying about it”  
“I’m not laughing, It’s okay to be sad about it, but it doesn’t mean we arent married anymore, you’re still stuck with me”  
"I don't know why I'm so emotional about it"  
"Because you are on pain killers and just woke up from surgery and it's all just overwhelming"  
“Am I going to have to miss school?”  
“You have two weeks until it starts, you’ll be fine”  
“How bad did I scare him?”  
“He was so brave, and they let us ride in the ambulance. The EMT kept him distracted with a toy firetruck they let him keep, it makes noise”  
“He did so good calling 911”  
“That’s why I let him have a cookie before dinner”  
"I want a cookie"  
"I'll see what I can do" Casey leaned forward kissing him as he wrapped his arms around him. “I think our children would love to climb in with you”  
Casey kissed Chuck’s forehead before standing up “Hey boys” he rubbed Nico’s back “Chuck is awake”  
Thor jumped up on the bed waiting for Chuck to pet him before curling up at the foot of the bed.  
“Can I hug him now?”  
“Yeah, I’m going to pick you up and put you in bed with him, I’ll put you on his right side so you won’t have to worry about touching his hurt hand”  
“Hi chuck”  
“Hey buddy” Chuck wrapped his right arm around him pulling him close  
“I love you Chuck”  
“I love you too Nico”   
“I love you too Case”  
“Love you, little man”  
“Is it okay to say that?”  
“Of course it is”  
“I wish I could call you my dads”  
“You can if you want, it’s up to you”  
“Do I get to live with you forever?”  
“We will find out soon”  
“I’m sleepy”  
“Me too, Casey please lay the bed back down so we can sleep”  
“Yes sir” Casey laughed.


	6. The End

“How was school?”  
“Not bad”  
“Do you have homework?”  
“Yes, I can’t believe I have homework on my birthday”  
“Well you aren’t the only kid in the school, they don’t care if it's your birthday”  
“Would I still have homework if I went to the blind school?”  
“Yes”  
“Where is Case?’  
“He will be home soon, he went to pick up your birthday cake”  
“Is Ayla home from school yet?”  
“Yeah he picked her up before he went to the store and I just put Fletcher down for a late nap”  
“How is he doing?”  
“He said hello today, and we found out he has potential parents lined up.”  
“That’s great” Nico grabbed a pop tart from the pantry “I’m gonna miss him”  
“I’d say you will ruin your dinner but it seems your stomach is a bottomless pit”  
“What's for dinner?”  
“Whatever the birthday boy wants”  
“Can we get tacos?”  
“That sounds great”  
“Do you think if I ask Case he will teach me how to shave my face, am I old enough yet?"  
“He would actually love that. Are you starting to get facial hair?”  
“Yeah, wanna feel?”  
“If you don’t mind” Chuck reached over and felt his sons face “Shaving isn’t as scary as it sounds, it’s all by touch and you may miss some spot but eventually it will come easy”  
“Is it okay that I’m going to ask him and not you?”  
“Of course, and he will probably be a better teacher than me, when he was a Marine he shaved every day. I only need to shave like once a week”  
“I still love you”  
“You and Casey have had a special bond since day one and I’m fine with that, and I know you love me and I will always love you”  
“Can I ask something about my adoption?”  
“Of course”  
“How come me and Ayla are the only two you have adopted?”  
“Well we have told you about how yours was an emergency situation and we weren’t sure if we were ready to have a kid but we instantly fell in love with you so we applied to adopt you, then when you got older we decided to be foster parents mostly to deaf kids and yes we have wanted to keep everyone and we love every kid that has come into this house and Ayla is the first sighted kid we got and we wanted a daughter and her spunky attitude fit well with your pops so it was an easy decision”  
“Did my birth mom ever try to check in on me?”  
“Not to my knowledge” Chuck gripped his arm “She would have had to contact the social worker and then she would have told us but we never heard and for your safety she has no knowledge of who adopted you. Sorry”  
“It’s okay, I got lucky and got to be with you and Case and I’m not upset, just curious”  
“Want me to help you with that homework?”  
“I don’t want to do it at all” he laughed, “But sure” He picked his backpack up and pulled his laptop out.

“Where is my birfday broder?” Ayla came running into the kitchen  
“Hey chicken little”  
“I’m not little, I’m almost six"  
“Still little to me” he gave her a hug   
“Pops said you need to come to the backyard for you gift”  
“Is it tacos?”  
“Nooooo, I can't tell you"  
“I’m going to get Fletch out of bed and I’ll meet you out there”

“Dad” Nico yelled when Chuck walked out the back door holding Fletcher's hand “Dad, dad, dad”  
“What, what, what”  
“Pops got me a dog”  
“Well technically we both got him for you, but he can take the credit if he wants”  
“Can it Bartowski” Casey wrapped his arms around him giving him a quick kiss   
“I’m a lot more emotional than I thought I would be”  
“I figure we can put Thor’s patch on Loki’s harness as memorial type thing”  
“I still remember the first day I got him, I bet Nico is having the same feelings”  
“They are rolling around in the grass”  
“I can hear all three of the kids giggling”  
“They are having a blast”  
“He asked about why we chose him and he asked if his mom ever checked in on him. He said he wasn’t sad about it and glad he has us”  
“I’m glad we have him”  
"He wants you to teach him to shave"  
"Shave what? his peach fuzz?" Casey laughed.  
"It will be a great father-son moment"  
"What are we going to do with Ayla hits puberty?"  
"Cry" Chuck laughed "Then call Sarah"  
"Speaking of, are they on their way?"  
“Yeah, so is James, Erica, Bennett, Berkley, and Bronwen”  
"I still slightly hate them for those names" they both laughed  
“When are we going to tell them that Sarah and Lindsey are the ones who put in the application to adopt Fletcher?”  
“They want to wait until it’s final but I don’t think they will be able to keep it a secret much longer since it’s so close”  
“I’ll go in and get everything set up” Casey kissed him again getting an eww and giggle from Ayla. “Pops keeps kissing daddy”  
“Dad come meet Loki”  
Chuck walked over to the sound of his kid's voices “You do realize me and pops picked him out two years ago”  
“No way”  
“Well we knew you wanted a seeing-eye dog and you have to be sixteen to have one and training takes about two years, you will have to do training with him so you two learn how each other works. I’ll be helping you daily after school and we will have a trainer come on Saturdays for awhile just to make sure everything is going right”  
“Thank you so much” Nico hugged him “I love him already, but it makes me miss Thor”  
“Me too buddy, me too”

"Well you don't have to worry about Apollo, he is sleeping on top of Loki"  
"Are they in Nico's bed?"  
"They are in Thor's old bed that I got out of the attic per Nico's request"  
"That's great, how did Fletcher do with Sarah and Lins putting him to bed?"  
"Well they fell for his little trick and got them to read four stories"  
"Already wrapped around his fingers"   
"They said they should know by Friday"  
"I'm so happy for them"  
"So Nico told me he has a crush on a girl at school, her name is Kristen and she is his science lab partner"  
“That’s so cute”  
“I told him to invite her over for dinner, but he said he is too nervous”  
“I still hate him being in a normal high school”  
“We have talked to him about what to do in certain situations and all he has to do is ask and he can transfer to the blind school plus he has Loki now but so far he seems to be doing really good”  
“Well we are only two weeks in, we will see how it goes”  
“Want to help me wash my hair?”  
“Can you all of a sudden not do it?”  
“Nope,” Casey pulled his shirt off tossing it at Chuck.  
“You know you could just say hey let's have sex”  
“But I really want a head massage” he pushed down his pants and brief “Both heads if you feel like it” He laughed.  
“You’re ridiculous”  
"You're the one who married me"  
"And I regret nothing" He laughed wrapping his arms around his husband giving him a kiss.

\-------------------------------------------

Chuck was crying as his fingers ran over the metal bumps that spelled 'Casey loves Chuck' he couldn't help but smile at the memory of Casey's proposal.  
"The flowers look really nice dad"  
"Is there a flag? There is supposed to be a flag?"  
"There is two" Ayla squeezed his hand "Do you want a minute alone?"  
"Yeah"  
"Just let me know when you're ready to go meet up with everyone else"

Chuck dropped down to his knees, pressing his forehead against the cold stone as he wept.   
"I love you so much John, I don't know how I'm supposed to go on without you, thank you so much for over forty years of love that sometimes I still don't understand why I deserved such a perfect husband. I'm so sad that our fourth grandbaby won't get to meet you. Ayla found out yesterday it's a girl, our first granddaughter. She said her middle name will be Casey and I bet she would have had you wrapped around her little fingers. Nico is actually excited that I'll be moving in with him, Kristen and Johnny" Chuck took a shaky breath "Don't worry, I'm taking the bench with me and I'll come visit you often I promise" his fingers traced along the braille again. "I can't believe even after you're gone you are still thinking about me. I love you John. Forever"


End file.
